Last three tickets for the EHF EURO 2022 up for grabs

22 April 2022, 14:00

Nine teams have already sealed their berths from the Women’s EHF EURO 2022 Qualifiers, joining hosts Montenegro, North Macedonia and Slovenia and reigning champions Norway.

The last three tickets are up for grabs, as several teams will lock horns in head-to-head decisive duels, including powerhouses like Romania, who will face Austria in Group 2, and the bronze medalists from the EHF EURO 2020, Croatia, meeting the Czech Republic in Group 4.

Meanwhile, Slovenia and Montenegro, two of the co-hosts of the EHF EURO 2022 will meet in a crunch tie for the second place in the EHF EURO Cup 2022 - a competition already won by Norway.

GROUP 1

Poland vs Switzerland

Sunday, 24 April, 16:15 CEST, live on EHFTV

both sides have qualified for the final tournament, after Russia’s elimination, with Switzerland securing their first berth for an EHF EURO
with a win, Poland will finish the Qualification Phase 2 of the EHF EURO with a perfect record for the first time in their history
only three teams – Croatia, Sweden and France – have conceded less goals per game than Poland’s 23.6 average in this phase of the competition
in the last two decades Poland and Switzerland have met twice, with Poland taking two wins, including a 31:22 in the first leg between the two teams
Switzerland have never won a game against Poland, losing all eight they have played by an average margin of 10.2 goals per game

GROUP 2

Denmark vs Faroe Islands

Saturday, 23 April, 16:10 CEST, live on EHFTV

Denmark have already won the group with a dominating 38:22 win over Austria on Wednesday, sealing their 15th consecutive participation at the EHF EURO
only Lithuania (181 goals) and Turkey (161 goals) have conceded more goals in the phase 2 of the EHF EURO 2022 Qualifiers than the Faroe Islands (151 goals)
with an average of 34.2 scored goals per game, Denmark are the best attack in this phase of the competition, having not scored less than 27 goals in a single game
the hosts have a 13-game winning streak in this stage of the competition, dating back to June 2016
in the only competitive game between the two sides up until this point, Denmark secured a 39:19 win in October 2021

Romania vs Austria

Sunday, 24 April, 17:00 CEST, live on EHFTV

Romania and Austria are tied on five points, with Austria needing either a win or a draw with 34 or more goals
Romania have previously qualified to 13 of the 14 editions of the EHF EURO, missing out only once, in 2006, when they were eliminated by Serbia in a crunch doubleheader
Austria’s coach, Herbert Muller, who has been serving since 2004, was born in Romania, speaks the language and has also coached a Romanian team, Rulmentul Brasov, between 2008 - 2009
the game will be played during the Orthodox Easter, as Romania make their comeback to Ramnicu Valcea for the first time in seven years
the two sides have met five times in the last five years, with Romania taking four wins and one game ending in a draw, 33:33

GROUP 3

Netherlands vs Greece

Sunday, 24 April, 16:00 CEST, live on EHFTV

with five wins in five games, Netherlands have won the group, scoring at a superb rate of 31 goals per game
no other team scored less goals than Greece in this phase of the competition, an average of 11 goals per game, including outputs of 10 and 11 goals against Germany and 14 goals in the first leg against the Netherlands
in the first game of the triple-header to end this group in Almere, Greece conceded a painful 40:11 loss to Germany
excluding their two wins against Belarus, who were eliminated from contention in this group, Greece are on a 17-game losing streak in the qualifiers
in the first leg between the two teams, the Netherlands sealed their third-largest win in history of the EHF EURO Qualification Phase - 35:14

GROUP 4

France vs Ukraine

Saturday, 23 April, 19:30 CEST, live on EHFTV

France’s 19-game unbeaten streak in the Qualification Phase of the EHF EURO came undone on Wednesday, when they lost to the Czech Republic
in their first game since October 2021, Ukraine stood little chance against Croatia, conceding a 26:19 loss, now they face a must-win game against France to stay in the hunt for a spot at the EHF EURO 2022
France will look to improve their defence, after conceding 31 goals against the Czech Republic, an uptick of nearly 10 goals from their average prior to their last match
the silver medalists from the EHF EURO 2020, France, have already won the group, after sweeping their opponents aside in the first four matches
France have won against Ukraine only three times from five matches in the last 20 years, with one of the wins coming in October 2021, 28:25, in the Ukraine

Croatia vs Czech Republic

Sunday, 24 April, 18:00 CEST, live on EHFTV

Croatia can become the first bronze medalist of the EHF EURO that fails to qualify for the next edition of the tournament if they lose to the Czech Republic
a win for Croatia would eliminate the Czech Republic from contention, as they would have only one win from four games, losing the tiebreaker against Croatia
key absences continue to undermine Croatia’s squad, as influential goalkeeper Tea Pijevic, captain Katarina Jezic and back Larissa Kalaus will miss through injury
back in the Czech Republic women’s national team after more than two years, back Iveta Koresova (below) scored eight goals in the win against France and will be crucial once again in the match against Croatia
the two sides met for the first time in a competitive match in October 2021, when Croatia took an impressive 26:24 away win

GROUP 5

Hungary vs Slovakia

Sunday, 24 April, 14:45 CEST, live on EHFTV

fresh from their 30:18 win against Portugal, Hungary are already through to the final tournament of the EHF EURO 2022
since the current format of qualification for the EHF EURO was introduced, Slovakia have never finished with six losses out of six games
coach Jorge Duenas failed to instill new life into his team, losing the first three games as Slovakia’s head coach (two losses against Portugal and one against Spain)
two of Slovakia’s players, wing Viktoria Gyoriova and back Barbora Lancz, are plying their trade at club level in the Hungarian league
Hungary have an eight-game unbeaten streak against Slovakia, taking seven wins in the last 13 years against their rivals

Spain vs Portugal

Sunday, 24 April, 19:00 CEST, live on EHFTV

due to them owning the tiebreaker against Hungary, Spain will win the group if they earn the same result as their rivals in the last game of qualification of the EHF EURO 2022
having played for Portugal at the EHF EURO 2008, Spain’s back, Alexandrina Barbosa, decided to switch allegiance in 2009, representing Spain since 2012
Portugal lost their last game against Hungary by 11 goals, snapping up a four-game winning streak, which dates back to October 2021
Spain have qualified for the 11th consecutive time, but did not win a medal since securing the silver in 2014
the two sides have met two times in the past 12 years, with Spain taking the win each time

GROUP 6

Serbia vs Iceland

Saturday, 23 April, 18:00 CEST, live on EHFTV

Serbia need to protect their home court and avoid a loss, after having already dropped a game against Iceland, 23:21, in the first leg
a win would see Iceland through to the EHF EURO for the first time since 2012 when they finished 15th
the hosts have not failed to qualify for the final tournament of the EHF EURO since 1998, setting up a streak of 11 consecutive participations
Serbia are on a 17-game unbeaten home streak in EHF EURO Qualifiers, with 15 wins and two draws, as their last loss came in March 2010, 20:21, against Spain
on the other hand, Iceland’s last away win in this phase of the competition came in June 2014, against Finland, as they ride a nine-game losing streak

Sweden vs Turkey

Saturday, 23 April, 18:10 CEST, live on EHFTV

with four wins in five games and owning the tiebreaker against Serbia, Sweden have already won the group
while Sweden conceded the second-lowest number of goals per game in the competition, 22.4, Turkey have the second-largest number of conceded goals per game, 32.2
right wing Nathalie Hagman needs only nine goals to become the fifth player in the history of Sweden’s national team to score at least 650 goals
Turkey’s last away win in qualification came in March 2014, when they won against Italy, 23:22
the two sides have met only once in recent history, when Sweden took a clear 31:23 win