Live blog: Three close games underway

• the Women's EHF EURO 2024 continues in Basel, Debrecen and Innsbruck on Monday 2 December
  
• in group A: North Macedonia vs Hungary at 18:00 CET, Türkiye vs Sweden at 20:30 CET
• in group C: Poland vs Spain at 18:00 CET, Portugal vs France at 20:30 CET
• in group E: Slovenia vs Austria at 18:00 CET, Slovakia vs Norway at 20:30 CET
• read the previews of Monday's games here
• follow the official social media channels for exclusive clips and behind-the-scenes content: X, Facebook, EHF EURO Instagram, Home of Handball Instagram, and TikTok
• find out more on how to follow the tournament
• all photos © EHF/kolektiff

17:40

It's 20 minutes until the first three matches throw off in this final game day for groups A, C and E. All are potentially important, although North Macedonia do, realistically, have the toughest task ahead of them as to have any hope of making the round they need to not only beat Hungary but win by a big enough margin that they then finish ahead of Türkiye in the rankings. Oh, and they also need Türkiye to beat Sweden ...

17:25

Spain, or Poland? Who will take the main round ticket?

16:55

Our stat of the day features the penalty queens of the tournament, the three teams with perfect scores from seven metres: Romania (7/7) as well as Portugal (6/6) and France (7/7), who meet today.

16:20

Everyone wants to make it to the main round. This is what it means - Poland play Spain at 18:00 CET in Basel!

16:00

First up in Innsbruck in a couple of hours will be Slovenia vs Austria, playing for the main round. Slovenia have a better goal difference than their opponents and therefore only need a draw to go through; Austria must win. And coach Dragan Adžic says that a place in the main round for his new-look, young squad would be just as good as getting the previous generation to the Olympic Games for the first time this summer.

Read more in our feature!

14:00

The blog is going on a bit of a break (there are Christmas markets to explore here in Innsbruck!) but to keep you occupied until we return later on, watch the new episode of 'The Spin' in which Ana Gros, Víctor Tomàs and Bengt Kunkel talk through the key moments so far and ask if Hungary can pick up a medal.

13:45

Today's Women in Handball focus on the EHF Activities Instagram channel highlights our three amazing female commentators at the EHF EURO. Alex Mair, Nina Bargel-Neuhaus and Clare Griffiths are all calling a senior EHF EURO for the first time, having come through the EHF Female Commentators' project. There still aren't enough women in sports media, so it's great to see our trio making an impact in Austria, Hungary and Switzerland.

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13:00

And let's show some love for the amazing goalkeepers at this tournament - the top six goalkeepers in the rankings by number of saves so far have all stopped at least 39 per cent of the shots they've faced, with the Faroe Islands' Annika Frídheim Petersen having saved 48.2 per cent of shots so far.

12:45

It wouldn't be the start of the live blog without the top five goals, would it? Here they are from last night!

12:30

In case you're wondering what needs to happen for your team to make it to the next round, this article is what you need - we'll update it later with the calculations for the remaining three groups.

12:00

The last day of the preliminary round for groups A, C and E is here, and there are still three main round places available. Hungary, France and Norway are through, but there are opportunities for several other teams to join them. 

To find out more, see the day preview.