European Men's Handball Championship

The European Men's Handball Championship is the official competition for senior men's national handball teams of Europe and takes place every two years since 1994, in the even-numbered year between the World Championship. In addition to crowning the European champions, the tournament also serves as a qualifying tournament for the Olympic Games and World Championship. The most successful team is Sweden who have won five titles. Spain, however, have won most medals.

European Men's Handball Championship
Most recent season or competition:
2024 European Men's Handball Championship
SportHandball
Founded1994; 30 years ago (1994)
No. of teams24 (finals)
ContinentEurope (EHF)
Most recent
champion(s)
 France (4th title)
Most titles Sweden (5 titles)

History

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In 1946, the International Handball Federation was founded by eight European nations,[1] and though non-European nations competed at the World Championships, the medals had always been taken by European nations.[2] European Handball Federation is founded in 1991. At the same time (1995), the World Championship was changed from a quadrennial to a biannual event, and the European Handball Federation now began its own championship – which also acted as a regional qualifier for the World Championship.[3]

1990s

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The first championship was held in Portugal in June 1994.[4] The host nation had not managed to qualify for any World Championship thus far, and they finished 12th and last after losing all six games, including 21–38 to Romania in the 11th-place play-off. Sweden became the first European champion after defeating Russia by 34–21 in the final, Russia's heaviest loss in their international history.[5] Both teams had gone through the tournament without loss, but Sweden's fast breaks became the key in the final; they scored 14 of their 34 goals on fast breaks. Swedish middle back Magnus Andersson was named the event's best player and Russian left back Vasily Kudinov was top scorer with 50 goals.[6]

Two years later, the championship moved to Spain, with the same format. This time, no team went through the group stage without giving up points, but Russia and Sweden were to face off once again; this time in the semi-final, and Russia got revenge with a 24–21 win in front of 650 spectators.[7] In the other semi-final, the hosts beat Yugoslavia 27–23, before 7,500 spectators littered the arena in Sevilla to watch the hosts go down by one goal despite the efforts of Talant Dujshebaev, a Kyrgyz-born[8] back player who had played for Russia in 1994 but who now turned out for Spain.[5] Federal Republic of Yugoslavia participated for the first time and finished third.

In 1998 the Championship was held in Italy, whose appearance at the 1997 World Championship was their first (and to date, only) at the top level of international handball.[2] Spain went through the first six matches of the tournament unbeaten, while their opponents Sweden had won the first four games before becoming the first team to lose to hosts Italy. However, in the final, Sweden were too strong and won by 25–23 after having led by 15–9 at half-time in front of 6,100 spectators in Bolzano.

2000s

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Two years later, the Championship was held in the Croatian cities of Zagreb and Rijeka. By now, the Championship had been moved back to January[9] in the middle of the European handball season. The Championship acted as an Olympic qualifier, and hosts Croatia, who had won the 1996 Olympics, needed to finish in the top five to qualify. They lost to Spain and drew with France in the group stage, which sent them into a fifth-place play-off with neighbours Slovenia. 10,000 spectators watched as Slovenia prevailed by one goal and qualified for the Sydney Games. The two teams who had won European Championships before, Sweden and Russia, qualified for the final – Sweden had won the group stage match 28–25,[9] but Russia took a six-goal lead at half-time. Sweden came back to tie the game at full-time, and two 10-minute extra periods were required before Sweden won 32–31[5] after Magnus Wislander scored the deciding goal.[10]

Three-time champions Sweden were the next to host the European Championship, in 2002. This was the first tournament with 16 teams, an expansion from 12 in the previous four instalments. The Swedes won their first seven matches, and had already qualified for the semi-finals when they lost 26–27 to Denmark, having led 17–11 at half time. In the other main round group, Iceland became the third Nordic team to qualify after defeating Germany in the final match, but both Denmark and Iceland were soundly beaten in the semi-finals – Denmark lost 23–28 to Germany, while Sweden defeated Iceland by 11 goals. Sweden thus qualified for their fourth final in five attempts, and in front of 14,300 spectators in Stockholm Globe, they came back from a one-goal deficit when Staffan Olsson equalised with five seconds to spare. Sweden had substituted their goalkeeper, and Florian Kehrmann replied with a goal in an empty net, but it was disallowed because the referees had not started play after the Swedish goal.[11] In the extra time, Sweden held on, and could celebrate their fourth title.[12]

Sweden's row of three successive Championships was broken in Slovenia in 2004, when Germany won despite not being touted as a medal candidate by news agency Deutsche Presse Agentur.[13] Germany suffered an early defeat to Serbia and Montenegro, and qualified for the main round as the third and final team from their group, having drawn with France as well. However, as the favourites beat each other in Germany's main round group, Germany qualified for the semi-finals in first place from the six-team group. In the other group, Croatia, who won the other group, had not lost any of their first seven games, while Denmark also had four successive wins.

Croatia faced hosts Slovenia in the semi-final, and the clash of the two Balkan neighbours saw heightened security measures.[14] 7,000 spectators in the Hall Tivoli saw that the hosts became the first team to beat Croatia in this tournament despite 12 goals from Croatian right winger Mirza Džomba who was reputed to be the best handball player in the world at the time.[15] Denmark, who had reached their second successive semi-final, once again had to bow out at this stage, as they lost 20–22 to Germany in what was described as a "hard-fought victory."[14] Germany won the final more convincingly; a 16–10 lead at half time was never squandered, as Slovenia only got within three goals in the second half, and eventually lost 25–30.[16]

The 2006 tournament was held in Switzerland, in the cities of Basel, Bern, Lucerne, St Gallen and Zürich. France won the tournament, going through with one solitary loss – a 26–29 defeat to Spain in the preliminary round (where France trailed by eight goals at half-time). Defending champions Germany was also in this preliminary group, and this time taking one point through from the group stage would not be enough for Germany. Despite winning all three main round games, so did France and Spain, and those two teams qualified for the semi-finals from Group I. From the other group, Croatia qualified in first place after a 34–30 victory over Serbia and Montenegro in the last match. Later that evening, Denmark beat Russia and qualified for their third successive semi-final, one point behind Croatia. However, the Group II teams were both defeated by Group I teams, causing France and Spain to meet again in the final. In the third-place play-off, Croatia surprisingly lost to Denmark, while the final saw France prevail by eight goals to win their first European Championship

Norway was the host country for the 2008 tournament. Matches were played in Bergen, Drammen, Lillehammer, Stavanger and Trondheim. Croatia, Norway, Hungary and France won their preliminary groups, but two of the teams failed to utilise their advantage; Norway drew with Poland and lost to Slovenia, and needed to beat Croatia in the final match of the group stage. Instead, Ivano Balić scored the 23–22 goal with twenty seconds to spare, and only a late equaliser gave Norway third place in the group.[17] Hungary, Spain and Germany had all gone through with two points from Group C, and Germany sealed their qualification with a two-goal win over Sweden in a match where a draw would have been enough for the Swedes.[18] In the first semifinal Croatia played France in a game dominated by strong defense by both teams, with the Croats achieving a three-goal lead twice, only to see France come back strong. Croatia goalkeeper Mirko Alilović saved a shot from Nikola Karabatic with six seconds to go as Croatia won 24–23. Denmark came back from 7–12 down to beat Germany, despite the Germans equalising within the final minute, as Lars Christiansen slotted home a penalty shot with three seconds remaining. Croatia started off well in the final, scoring the first four goals, but with eight saves more from Denmark's keeper, Kasper Hvidt, Denmark won 24–20 and took their first major trophy.

Tournaments

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Year Host Final Third place match Teams
Champions Score Runners-up Third place Score Fourth place
1994
Details
 
Portugal
 
Sweden
34–21  
Russia
 
Croatia
24–23  
Denmark
12
1996
Details
 
Spain
 
Russia
23–22  
Spain
 
FR Yugoslavia
26–25  
Sweden
12
1998
Details
 
Italy
 
Sweden
25–23  
Spain
 
Germany
30–28 (ET)  
Russia
12
2000
Details
 
Croatia
 
Sweden
32–31 (2ET)  
Russia
 
Spain
24–23  
France
12
2002
Details
 
Sweden
 
Sweden
33–31 (ET)  
Germany
 
Denmark
29–22  
Iceland
16
2004
Details
 
Slovenia
 
Germany
30–25  
Slovenia
 
Denmark
31–27  
Croatia
16
2006
Details
 
Switzerland
 
France
31–23  
Spain
 
Denmark
32–27  
Croatia
16
2008
Details
 
Norway
 
Denmark
24–20  
Croatia
 
France
36–26  
Germany
16
2010
Details
 
Austria
 
France
25–21  
Croatia
 
Iceland
29–26  
Poland
16
2012
Details
 
Serbia
 
Denmark
21–19  
Serbia
 
Croatia
31–27  
Spain
16
2014
Details
 
Denmark
 
France
41–32  
Denmark
 
Spain
29–28  
Croatia
16
2016
Details
 
Poland
 
Germany
24–17  
Spain
 
Croatia
31–24  
Norway
16
2018
Details
 
Croatia
 
Spain
29–23  
Sweden
 
France
32–29  
Denmark
16
2020
Details
     
Austria / Norway / Sweden
 
Spain
22–20  
Croatia
 
Norway
28–20  
Slovenia
24
2022
Details
   
Hungary / Slovakia
 
Sweden
27–26  
Spain
 
Denmark
35–32 (ET)  
France
24
2024
Details
 
Germany
 
France
33–31 (ET)  
Denmark
 
Sweden
34–31  
Germany
24
2026
Details
     
Denmark / Norway / Sweden
24
2028
Details
     
Portugal / Spain / Switzerland
24

Medal table

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RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1  Sweden5117
2  France4026
3  Spain2529
4  Denmark2248
5  Germany2114
6  Russia1203
7  Croatia0336
8  Serbia0101
  Slovenia0101
10  Iceland0011
  Norway0011
  Yugoslavia0011
Totals (12 entries)16161648

Statistics

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Summary (1994–2022)

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Rank Team Part. Points GP W D L GF GA GD
1   Spain 15 157 111 75 7 29
2   France 15 140 104 65 10 29
3   Croatia 15 134 107 62 10 35
4   Denmark 14 133 101 63 7 31
5   Sweden 14 127 96 60 7 29
6   Germany 14 112 97 49 14 34
7   Russia 14 93 83 42 9 32
8   Iceland 12 68 71 29 10 32
9   Norway 10 67 62 30 7 25
10   Slovenia 13 63 79 27 9 43
11   Serbia 12 53 62 23 7 32
12   Hungary 13 51 67 20 11 36
13   Poland 10 47 56 21 5 30
14   Czech Republic 11 39 57 17 5 35
15   Belarus 7 23 37 11 1 25
16   Portugal 7 21 36 10 1 25
17   North Macedonia 7 21 37 8 5 24
18   Austria 5 16 25 7 2 16
19   Netherlands 2 9 10 4 1 5
20   Montenegro 6 9 25 4 1 20
21   Romania 2 8 12 4 0 8
22   Ukraine 7 7 31 3 1 27
23    Switzerland 4 6 15 2 2 11
24   Lithuania 2 5 9 2 1 6
25   Italy 1 4 6 2 0 4
26   Slovakia 4 3 12 1 1 10
27   Bosnia and Herzegovina 2 0 6 0 0 6
28   Israel 1 0 3 0 0 3
29   Latvia 1 0 3 0 0 3

Total hosts

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Hosts Nations (Year(s)
3   Norway (2008, 2020, 2026)
  Sweden (2002, 2020, 2026)
2   Austria (2010, 2020)
  Croatia (2000, 2018)
  Denmark (2014, 2026)
  Portugal (1994, 2028)
  Spain (1996, 2028)
   Switzerland (2006, 2028)
1   Germany (2024)
  Hungary (2022)
  Italy (1998)
  Poland (2016)
  Serbia (2012)
  Slovakia (2022)
  Slovenia (2004)

Top scorers by tournament

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The record-holder for scored goals in a single Euro Championship is Sander Sagosen. He scored 65 goals for Norway at the 2020 European Men's Handball Championship that took place in Austria, Sweden and Norway.

Year Player Goals
1994   Vasily Kudinov 50
1996   Thomas Knorr 41
1998   Jan Filip 48
2000   Oleg Velyky 46
2002   Ólafur Stefánsson 58
2004   Mirza Džomba 46
2006   Siarhei Rutenka 51
2008   Ivano Balić
  Lars Christiansen
  Nikola Karabatić
44
2010   Filip Jícha 53
2012   Kiril Lazarov 61
2014   Joan Cañellas 50
2016   Valero Rivera 48
2018   Ondřej Zdráhala 55
2020   Sander Sagosen 65
2022   Ómar Ingi Magnússon 59
2024   Martim Costa
  Mathias Gidsel
54

MVPs by tournament

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Year Player
1994   Magnus Andersson
1996   Talant Dujshebaev
1998   Daniel Stephan
2000   Jackson Richardson
2002   Magnus Wislander
2004   Ivano Balić
2006   Ivano Balić
2008   Nikola Karabatić
2010   Filip Jícha
2012   Momir Ilić
2014   Nikola Karabatić
2016   Raúl Entrerríos
2018   Jim Gottfridsson
2020   Domagoj Duvnjak
2022   Jim Gottfridsson
2024   Nedim Remili

Participating nations

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Legend
  • 1st – Champions
  • 2nd – Runners-up
  • 3rd – Third place
  • 4th – Fourth place
  • 5th – Fifth place
  • 6th – Sixth place
  • 7th – Seventh place
  • 8th – Eighth place
  • 9th – Ninth place
  • 10th – Tenth place
  • 11th – Eleventh place
  • 12th – Twelfth place
  • MR – Main round
  • GS – Group stage
  • Q – Qualified for upcoming tournament
  • q – may still qualify for upcoming tournament
  •  •  – Did not qualify
  •  •×  – Disqualified
  •  ×  – Did not enter / Withdrew / Banned
  •    – Hosts
Team  
1994
 
1996
 
1998
 
2000
 
2002
 
2004
 
2006
 
2008
 
2010
 
2012
 
2014
 
2016
 
2018
 
 
 
2020
 
 
2022
 
2024
 
 
 
2026
 
 
 
2028
Participations
  Austria 9th 11th 15th 8th 20th 8th 6
  Belarus 8th 15th 12th 10th 10th 10th 17th × 7
  Bosnia and Herzegovina 23rd 23rd 24th 3
  Croatia 3rd 5th 8th 6th 16th 4th 4th 2nd 2nd 3rd 4th 3rd 5th 2nd 8th 11th 16
  Czech Republic 6th 10th 8th 11th 13th 8th 14th 15th 6th 12th 13th 15th 12
  Denmark 4th 12th 10th 3rd 3rd 3rd 1st 5th 1st 2nd 6th 4th 13th 3rd 2nd Q 16
  Faroe Islands × × × × × 20th 1
  France 6th 7th 7th 4th 6th 6th 1st 3rd 1st 11th 1st 5th 3rd 14th 4th 1st Q 17
  Georgia × × × 18th 1
  Germany 9th 8th 3rd 9th 2nd 1st 5th 4th 10th 7th 1st 9th 5th 7th 4th 15
  Greece 23rd 1
  Hungary 7th 10th 6th 9th 13th 8th 14th 8th 8th 12th 14th 9th 15th 5th 14
  Iceland 11th 4th 13th 7th 11th 3rd 10th 5th 13th 13th 11th 6th 10th 13
  Israel 14th 1
  Italy 11th 1
  Latvia 24th 1
  Lithuania 9th 21st 2
  Montenegro1 12th 16th 16th 16th 18th 11th 14th 7
  Netherlands 17th 10th 12th 3
  North Macedonia × 12th 5th 10th 11th 11th 15th 22nd 17th 8
  Norway 8th 11th 6th 7th 13th 14th 4th 7th 3rd 5th 9th Q 12
  Poland 15th 16th 10th 7th 4th 9th 6th 7th 21st 12th 16th 11
  Portugal 12th 7th 9th 14th 15th 6th 19th 7th Q 9
  Romania 11th 9th 22nd 3
  Russia 2nd 1st 4th 2nd 5th 5th 6th 14th 12th 15th 9th 9th 22nd 9th × 14
  Serbia1 13th 2nd 13th 15th 12th 20th 14th 19th 8
  Slovakia 16th 16th 16th 18th 4
  Slovenia 10th 11th 5th 12th 2nd 8th 10th 11th 6th 14th 8th 4th 16th 6th 14
  Spain 5th 2nd 2nd 3rd 7th 10th 2nd 9th 6th 4th 3rd 2nd 1st 1st 2nd 13th Q 17
  Sweden 1st 4th 1st 1st 1st 7th 5th 15th 12th 7th 8th 2nd 7th 1st 3rd Q 16
   Switzerland 13th 12th 14th 16th 21st Q 6
  Ukraine 12th 11th 15th 12th 16th 19th 24th 7
Historical national teams
  Serbia and Montenegro1 8th 9th 2
  Yugoslavia1 × 3rd 5th 10th 3
Total 12 12 12 12 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 24 24 24 24 24
1 FR Yugoslavia competed as such until 2003 when the FRY was reconstituted as a State Union Serbia and Montenegro. Since the dissolution of the union in 2006, national teams exist for both countries.

Most successful players

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The table shows the most successful players at the European Championships. Players listed in bold are still active as of 2022. Players marked with an asterisk (*) have the additional distinction of having been elected championship MVP.

Rank Player Country From To Gold Silver Bronze Total
1 Nikola Karabatić **   France 2006 2024 4 2 6
2 Magnus Andersson *   Sweden 1994 2002 4 4
Martin Frändesjö   Sweden 1994 2002 4 4
Ola Lindgren   Sweden 1994 2002 4 4
Stefan Lövgren   Sweden 1994 2002 4 4
Staffan Olsson   Sweden 1994 2002 4 4
Magnus Wislander *   Sweden 1994 2002 4 4
8 Luc Abalo   France 2006 2018 3 2 5
9 Jérôme Fernandez   France 2006 2014 3 1 4
Michaël Guigou   France 2006 2018 3 1 4
Daniel Narcisse   France 2006 2014 3 1 4
Thierry Omeyer   France 2006 2014 3 1 4

References

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  1. ^ History of Handball from ihf.info, retrieved 7 February 2006
  2. ^ a b Medals Table – Ranking At Men's World Championships A 1938–1990 from ihf.info, retrieved 7 February 2006
  3. ^ (in German) Handball-Bundesliga diskutiert Reduzierung auf 16 Teams, by Erik Eggers, published by Der Spiegel online, 30 January 2006
  4. ^ (in Norwegian) (ed) Arvid Eriksen Sportsboken 1994, p. 291, Schibsted. ISBN 82-516-1543-7.
  5. ^ a b c (in German) Von Porto bis Ljubljana Archived 28 March 2007 at the Wayback Machine, from Handballworld.com, retrieved 7 February 2006
  6. ^ "EHF EURO 1994 – All Star Team announced". ehf-euro.com. 12 June 1994. Archived from the original on 4 October 2013. Retrieved 2 October 2013.
  7. ^ EHF – Match details[permanent dead link], retrieved 7 February 2006
  8. ^ Talant Dujshebaev[permanent dead link], from hand-ball.org, retrieved 7 February 2006
  9. ^ a b 2000 Men's European Championship – Finals[permanent dead link], from EHF, retrieved 27 January 2006
  10. ^ (in Swedish) Ryssland väntar i semifinalen Archived 18 August 2006 at the Wayback Machine, retrieved 27 February 2006
  11. ^ (in German) Deutschland verpaßt Europameistertitel nur knapp – Schweden am Rande der Niederlage Archived 4 January 2006 at the Wayback Machine from starpix.se, retrieved 27 February 2006
  12. ^ 2002 – Men's European Championship, – Finals – Germany v Sweden[permanent dead link], retrieved 27 February 2006
  13. ^ (in German) Vor der EM – Keine Panik", by Martin Kloth, published by stern.de, retrieved 27 February 2006
  14. ^ a b "Deutschland ist im Finale".
  15. ^ (in German) Slowenien erreicht nach 27:25-Sieg über Kroatien das Finale Archived 4 January 2006 at the Wayback Machine, from thw-provinzial.de, retrieved 27 February 2006
  16. ^ (in German)Europameister! Deutschland gegen Gastgeber Slowenien ganz cool zum Titel Archived 7 November 2005 at the Wayback Machine, from thw-provinzial.de, retrieved 27 February 2006
  17. ^ (in Norwegian) Drama mot Kroatia, Webjørn Espeland, NRK, retrieved 19 July 2008
  18. ^ (in Swedish) Tyskland stoppade Sverige, Martin Ahlin, Eurosport, retrieved 19 July 2008
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