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 four titles. Spain, however, have won most medals.

European Men's Handball Championship

Founded	1994
Region	Europe (EHF)
Number of teams	38 (Qualification) 16 (Final Tournament)
Current champions	Spain (2nd title)
Most successful team(s)	Sweden (4 titles)
2020 European Men's Handball Championship

History

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

Main articles: 1994 European Men's Handball Championship, 1996 European Men's Handball Championship, and 1998 European Men's Handball Championship

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

Main articles: 2000 European Men's Handball Championship, 2002 European Men's Handball Championship, 2004 European Men's Handball Championship, 2006 European Men's Handball Championship, and 2008 European Men's Handball Championship

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

Year	Host		Final				Third place match				Teams
			Champions	Score	Runners-up		3rd place	Score	4th 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	Russia		Spain	24–23	France		12
2002 Details	Sweden		Sweden	33–31	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										24
2024 Details	Germany										24

Medal table

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Sweden	4	1	0	5
2	France	3	0	2	5
3	Spain	2	4	2	8
4	Denmark	2	1	3	6
5	Germany	2	1	1	4
6	Russia	1	2	0	3
7	Croatia	0	3	3	6
8	Serbia	0	1	0	1
	Slovenia	0	1	0	1
10	FR Yugoslavia	0	0	1	1
	Iceland	0	0	1	1
	Norway	0	0	1	1
Totals (12 nations)		14	14	14	42

Statistics

Total hosts

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

Top scorers by tournament

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 Denmark.

Year	Player	Goals
1994	Vasily Kudinov	50
1996	Thomas Knorr	41
1998	Jan Filip	48
2000	Oleg Velyky	46
2002	Stefan Lövgren Ólafur Stefánsson	57
2004	Mirza Džomba	46
2006	Siarhei Rutenka	51
2008	Ivano Balić Nikola Karabatić Lars Christiansen	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

Participating nations

Main article: National team appearances in the European Men's Handball Championship

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

For each tournament, the number of teams in each finals tournament (in brackets) are shown.

Team	1994	1996	1998	2000	2002	2004	2006	2008	2010	2012	2014	2016	2018	2020	2022	2024	Participations
Austria	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	9th	•	11th	•	15th	8th	•	•	4
Belarus	8th	•	•	•	•	•	•	15th	•	•	12th	10th	10th	10th	•	•	6
Bosnia and Herzegovina	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	23rd	•	•	1
Croatia	3rd	5th	8th	6th	16th	4th	4th	2nd	2nd	3rd	4th	3rd	5th	2nd	Q	•	15
Czech Republic	•	6th	10th	•	8th	11th	•	13th	8th	14th	15th	•	6th	12th	•	•	10
Denmark	4th	12th	•	10th	3rd	3rd	3rd	1st	5th	1st	2nd	6th	4th	13th	•	•	13
France	6th	7th	7th	4th	6th	6th	1st	3rd	1st	11th	1st	5th	3rd	14th	•	•	14
Germany	9th	8th	3rd	9th	2nd	1st	5th	4th	10th	7th	•	1st	9th	5th	•	Q	14
Hungary	7th	10th	6th	•	•	9th	13th	8th	14th	8th	8th	12th	14th	9th	Q	•	13
Iceland	•	•	•	11th	4th	13th	7th	11th	3rd	10th	5th	13th	13th	11th	•	•	11
Israel	•	•	•	•	14th	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	1
Italy	•	•	11th	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	1
Latvia	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	24th	•	•	1
Lithuania	•	•	9th	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	1
Macedonia	x	•	12th	•	•	•	•	•	•	5th	10th	11th	11th	15th	•	•	6
Montenegro^1								12th	•	•	16th	16th	16th	18th	•	•	5
Netherlands	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	17th	•	•	1
Norway	•	•	•	8th	•	•	11th	6th	7th	13th	14th	4th	7th	3rd	•	•	9
Poland	•	•	•	•	15th	16th	10th	7th	4th	9th	6th	7th	•	21st	•	•	9
Portugal	12th	•	•	7th	9th	14th	15th	•	•	•	•	•	•	6th	•	•	6
Romania	11th	9th	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	2
Russia	2nd	1st	4th	2nd	5th	5th	6th	14th	12th	15th	9th	9th	•	22nd	•	•	13
Serbia ^1								•	13th	2nd	13th	15th	12th	20th	•	•	6
Slovakia	•	•	•	•	•	•	16th	16th	•	16th	•	•	•	•	Q	•	4
Slovenia	10th	11th	•	5th	12th	2nd	8th	10th	11th	6th	•	14th	8th	4th	•	•	12
Spain	5th	2nd	2nd	3rd	7th	10th	2nd	9th	6th	4th	3rd	2nd	1st	1st	Q	•	15
Sweden	1st	4th	1st	1st	1st	7th	•	5th	15th	12th	7th	8th	2nd	7th	•	•	13
Switzerland	•	•	•	•	13th	12th	14th	•	•	•	•	•	•	16th	•	•	4
Ukraine	•	•	•	12th	11th	15th	12th	•	16th	•	•	•	•	19th	•	•	6
Historical national teams
Serbia and Montenegro^1							9th										1
FR Yugoslavia^1	x	3rd	5th	•	10th	8th											4
Total	12	12	12	12	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	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.

References

1. History of Handball from ihf.info, retrieved 7 February 2006
2. 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, pg. 291, Schibsted. ISBN 82-516-1543-7.
5. (in German) Von Porto bis Ljubljana, 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, retrieved 7 February 2006
8. Talant Dujshebaev, from hand-ball.org, retrieved 7 February 2006
9. 2000 Men's European Championship – Finals, 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, retrieved 27 February 2006
13. (in German) Vor der EM – Keine Panik", by Martin Kloth, published by stern.de, retrieved 27 February 2006
14. 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 Northern Sami) Tyskland stoppade Sverige, Martin Ahlin, Eurosport, retrieved 19 July 2008

External links

• Official homepage of the European Handball Federation