Teams test form in pre-EURO friendly games
With the Men's EHF EURO 2024 throwing off in just four days, teams have been busy playing friendly matches against European and international opponents. But a few more players have been ruled out through injury, forcing coaches to constantly re-assess their line-ups before they travel to Germany.
Denmark and Norway draw in Golden League
France and Denmark are both hosting Golden League tournaments this week, and perhaps the most intriguing result so far was the 27:27 draw in Denmark between the hosts and Norway. Norway were missing key players Gøran Johannessen and Magnus Rød, who are being rested ahead of the EURO, but still managed to pull back a draw after Denmark held a five-goal lead in the closing stages. Denmark beat Egypt 34:31 and Norway beat the Netherlands 38:35 in their other games, while the Netherlands also lost 28:30 to Egypt. In France, the hosts are undefeated in a tournament also featuring Tunisia, Brazil and Bahrain.
Briet and Minne left out of France squad
France head coach Guillaume Gille has left HBC Nantes players Thibaud Briet and Aymeric Minne out of his final EURO squad in the wake of the Golden League games, but has called up Kielce right wing Benoît Kounkoud to reinforce that position as Yanis Lenne is suffering with some back problems. That means 19 players are en route to Dusseldorf on Sunday, with Gille able to select one more player for the final squad.
Germany beat Portugal ...
Germany and Portugal have warmed up with a double-header of friendly games. On Thursday, Germany clinched a 34:33 victory against their visitors in Flensburg, thanks to a key save from Andreas Wolff in the last 20 seconds of the match. However, coach Alfred Gislason said the second-half performance by his team had not been good enough. On Saturday in Kiel, the margin was bigger (35:31), with Portugal the ones to start making errors in the second half. As a result, Germany go into their home EURO on a winning streak.
... but Patrick Groetzki is out through injury
Despite their double victory over Portugal, the friendlies took a toll on Germany as right wing Patrick Groetzki's old foot injury flared up again. Groetzki had only been back in action for a month after recovering from the problem over the autumn. The injury means Germany's squad currently consists of 17 players, and coach Alfred Gislason has until Tuesday to fill the gaps in his line-up. Other key players who will miss the tournament include Hendrik Pekeler and Paul Drux, who are recovering from injury.
Arkadiusz Moryto also out
Poland's Arkadiusz Moryto will miss the EHF EURO through ongoing complications of an injured shoulder. The right wing has struggled to return to form lately and it has now been confirmed he is out of the EURO squad unless he manages to return to fitness. It is a huge blow for Poland: Moryto was Poland's top scorer at the EHF EURO 2022, with 46 goals. Poland have played two friendlies in the last few days, losing 25:31 to Spain and beating Slovakia 38:20.
More friendly results
In other friendly games, Spain emerged as the victors against both Poland and Serbia. Croatia beat Slovenia 32:26 on Saturday and Montenegro 29:25 on Thursday. The Faroe Islands enter their maiden EHF EURO after back-to-back wins against Belgium (41:31 and 34:29). Czechia defeated Hungary 26:25. Switzerland took two big wins over Romania and Bosnia and Herzegovina. And defending champions Sweden beat Japan 42:30 in the first of a double-header on Friday; the second match takes place on Sunday afternoon.
