5:55 p.m
The opening game will be led by the two referees Mirza Kurtagic and Mattias Wetterwik from Sweden. The EHF is sending Jan Kampman from Denmark as supervisor. The record setting is ready, and so are the teams. The national anthems sound and then the ball flies.
5:50 p.m
The influence and respect of the players in front of the crowd is also likely to be a deciding factor today: It is the DHB’s record attempt, the football stadium in Düsseldorf was rebuilt especially for this purpose and there will be room for over 50,000 fans. A completely new situation for the indoor handball player. The Equipe Tricolore is clearly the favorite going into the game, led by veteran and former world handball player Nikola Karabatic. The reigning Olympic champion and runner-up world champion has been in extremely strong form recently, with only one defeat in the last 20 official games. The team from the Balkans, coached by handball icon Kiril Lazarov, takes on the role of underdog. But his influence is now significantly less than it was as a player. There have been four wins in a row recently, but the opponents were “only” Luxembourg, Turkey and Greece. But today they want to put pressure on the title contenders with a physically present style of play.
5:40 p.m
Favorites is the right keyword, because there are many title contenders. In addition to the hat-trick world champion Denmark, who struggled at the last European Championship tournaments, defending champion Sweden also has legitimate ambitions. The French and Spanish are also likely to play a defining role in the tournament again. But the international top in particular is slipping ever closer together, so nations like Iceland, Norway, the Netherlands, host Germany and the Faroe Islands are also hoping to land one or two lucky punches. Looking at Group A, co-favorites France and hosts Germany have an exciting group ahead of them. Switzerland in particular has an ambitious team in which many faces from the Bundesliga want to show off. But North Macedonia should not be underestimated either, with their physically robust style of play they should be an unpleasant opening opponent for the French.
5:30 p.m
For the first time, one nation is the sole host of a European Championship with 24 participating teams. Your goal: to win the European handball crown in Germany. The tournament begins in six preliminary round groups of four teams, with the first and second place teams moving on to the six-team main round. The points from the direct duel in the preliminary round will be taken with you. A further five games will then follow to determine placement in the main round. The two best teams advance directly to the semi-finals, then play crosswise against the nations from the second main round. The respective third-placed teams still play for fifth place in the tournament. This means that a lot of excitement is guaranteed right from the preliminary round; you can only go far in this tournament mode with optimal results. Accordingly, the following applies especially to the favorites: slipping is forbidden!
5:20 p.m
Hello and welcome to the 16th European Men’s Handball Championship! In the first game of the tournament, France and North Macedonia meet in Group A, kick-off is at 6 p.m. in the Merkur Spiel-Arena in Düsseldorf!