Round 2 opens with top-of-table clashes

The favourites Sweden and Hungary meet in group A, while in the second time slot North Macedonia and debutants Türkiye will face off hunting for their first points of the tournament.

In group C, Poland and Portugal will open the day, both on the hunt for their first points at the EHF EURO 2024. France and Spain, who were the winners of the round 1 matches, will meet in what could be a crucial game regarding first spot in the group.  

In group E, the two victors of round 1, hosts Austria and defending champions Norway, meet in Innsbruck. The loser of the second match between Slovenia and Slovakia will be out of the race for the main round in Vienna.

GROUP A

Sweden vs Hungary
Saturday 30 November, 18:00 CET, live on EHFTV

• Sweden secured a dominant 28:18 win against the Macedonians in the opening match, almost recording their biggest ever win at an EHF EURO
• the teams have already met twice in 2024, with one win apiece
• Sweden eliminated Hungary in the quarter-finals at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in an extremely tight match that went to overtime, and the co-hosts are sharping themselves for revenge on home soil
• Hungary started the EHF EURO 2024 with a 30:24 win against debutants Türkiye in their opening match
• the winner of the match may end up bringing a couple of points to the main round, if both teams go through, which adds extra significance

North Macedonia vs Türkiye
Saturday 30 November, 20:30 CET, live on EHFTV

• the main aim for both teams at the EHF EURO 2024 is winning this match and gaining points
• Kristijan Grchevski’s squad are aiming to finally break North Macedonia's European championships losing streak dating back to the EHF EURO 2008, when the Lionesses last recorded a win
• the Macedonians and the Turks met three times over the past few years with Türkiye taking a couple of wins in friendly matches and one at the Mediterranean Games in 2022
• both teams lost all of their friendly matches prior to the EHF EURO 2024
• Türkiye would write a new chapter in the national team's history books if they can win this game, as it would be their maiden victory at a major tournament
• both sides had positive periods in their opening matches, but could not keep up with their opponents' level throughout the match and lost: North Macedonia 18:28 to Sweden, Türkiye 24:30 to Hungary

GROUP C

Poland vs Portugal
Saturday 30 November, 15:30 CET, live on EHFTV

• both teams come into round 2 on the back of losses, though Portugal’s round 1 match was in many ways positive for the side while Poland suffered a decisive defeat, 22:35, at the hands of France
• Portugal, who are playing their first major tournament with this iteration of players and have participated in only the EHF EURO 2008 before, led most of the game versus Spain up to minute 40, then succumbed to a 24:30 loss
• Poland have much more tournament experience than Portugal, with the 2024 edition being their ninth EURO and sixth in a row
• Portugal back Joana Resende was one of the top scorers of day one at the EURO, netting eight goals, all from the field, while goalkeeper Isabel Góis made 11 saves to also rank among the top across the competition in this statistic
• the historic balance stands at three wins for Poland and one for Portugal, although the most recent of those games was played in 2014

France vs Spain
Saturday 30 November, 18:00 CET, live on EHFTV

• France and Spain were the two victors in round 1 for group C; this match could end up deciding first position on the table and who goes to the main round with two points
• France almost equalled their record for biggest EHF EURO win against Poland in their opener, taking a 13-goal victory (35:22); they were also just three goals shy of their record for most goals scored in a EURO game — 38
• Spain’s greater experience won out in the end against Portugal, as they firmly led through the last 20 minutes and secured a 30:24 victory
• the individual standouts for these teams in round 1 were Spain back Carmen Campos, who netted eight goals, and the France goalkeeper duo of Laura Glauser and Hatadou Sako, who put their side on top of the team saves ranking at the end of day one, with 17 stops at 43.59 per cent
• the history between the sides is long, with the round 2 game representing their 19th mutual clash spanning from 1985 to 2024; the record shows 13 wins for France, three for Spain and two draws

GROUP E

Norway vs Austria
Saturday 30 November, 18:00 CET, live on EHFTV

• the 33:26 opening win against Slovenia was Norway’s 95th victory at Women’s EHF EURO final tournaments, while Austria’s 37:24 victory against Slovakia was their biggest ever EHF EURO win and the first since 2010
• the three best group E scorers of round 1 face in this duel: Norwegian Henny Reistad netted nine times against Slovenia, the Austrian duo Johanna Reichert and Ines Ivancok-Soltic scored eight goals each against Slovakia
• Austria’s last victory against Norway was 29 years ago at the 1995 IHF Women’s World Championship, coincidentally co-hosted by Austria and Hungary: 24:23 in Wiener Neustadt
• since then, Norway won all duels with at least a 17-goal advantage, including in the EHF EURO Cup 2024 (43:22 and 39:22) and the 2023 World Championship (45:28)
• while Petra Blazek is the only Austrian player with EHF EURO experience before this event with now 16 matches in her fourth tournament, her Norwegian counterpart Katrine Lunde plays her 62nd EHF EURO match on Saturday in her ninth tournament

Slovenia vs Slovakia
Saturday 30 November, 20:30 CET, live on EHFTV

• the loser of this match will miss the main round, therefore it is the last chance for the two sides to remain in the race for the ticket to Vienna, as both lost their openers
• Barbora Lancz was Slovakia’s top scorer against Austria with nine goals, while Tjaša Stanko netted seven times for Slovenia against Norway
• the only previous meetings between the teams were in the play-offs for the EHF EURO 2002, both won by Slovenia
• Slovakia are looking for their second ever victory at EHF EURO final tournaments; after 13 matches, they have one win, one draw and 11 defeats
• both coaches were part of EHF EURO finals with their previous teams: Slovakia’s coach Jorge Duenas steered Spain to silver medals in 2008 and 2014, while Slovenia’s coach Dragan Adzic won gold with Montenegro in 2012

Photos © EHF/kolektiff