After six rounds, the EHF EURO 2024 Qualifiers are now done and dusted, with 20 teams joining the previously qualified hosts Germany, reigning champions Sweden, Spain and Denmark for the 16th edition of the competition.

Three teams will debut at the EHF EURO's final tournament, namely the Faroe Islands, Georgia and Greece, with another side, Romania, making their comeback for the first time in 28 years, ending the longest wait for a berth in the competition in history.

32 teams competed in the EHF EURO 2024 Qualifiers, which were divided into eight groups of four teams each, with the top two sides in each group progressing, with the four best-placed teams ranked on the third place also earning their tickets to Germany.

Three sides – Portugal in Group 1, Austria in Group 4 and France in Group 8 – sealed six wins in six matches, finishing the EHF EURO 2024 Qualifiers with a clean sweep and a maximum of 12 points, as Austria and Portugal did it for the first time in their history. France, who had little trouble disposing of Poland, Latvia and Italy, had the best goal difference of the 32 teams playing, +74, and the second-best attack, with 222 goals scored.

The biggest surprise of the Qualifiers was Georgia sealing a berth for the final tournament after a last-gasp 31:30 win against Hungary in Group 7 in the final round, in the final second, through a penalty converted by Giorgi Tskhovrebadze. With this win, Georgia sealed the spot for the EHF EURO 2024, as they were fourth in the third-placed teams ranking.

The Faroe Islands also wrote history in Group 4, as their two home wins against Romania and Ukraine helped them seal a place at the table for Germany 2024, on their path to becoming the smallest-ever nation to clinch a berth for the competition, with a population of roughly 53,000.

Coincidentally, both the Faroe Islands and Georgia are former winners of the IHF Men's Emerging Nations Championship, a sign that the competition has started to help teams get better and better.

Giorgi Tskhovrebadze, the top goal scorer of the EHF EURO 2024 Qualifiers, was also the MVP at the 2019 IHF Men's Emerging Nations Championship when Georgia sealed the trophy on their home court.

Greece are the third team to have secured safe passage to the final EHF EURO tournament for the first time in history. Facing a tough group 5 with the Netherlands, Croatia and Belgium, Greece delivered an excellent start, taking a big win against the Dutch side, which eventually helped them secure one of the top 4 third-place berths.

As France and Croatia joined the previously-qualified Spain, the trio remain the only three teams to have secured safe passage to the final tournament for all 16 editions of the EHF EURO.

The four previously qualified teams have entered the EHF EURO Cup 2024, with Denmark, Sweden, Spain and Germany clashing for the trophy. 

Eventually, it was Denmark which sealed the trophy, after a 37:32 win against Sweden in the last game, with both sides finishing with five wins and one loss. Still, Denmark held the tiebreaker against their Scandinavian rivals after conceding a 30:32 loss in the first game.
 
Spain ended on the third place, as Germany finished last, with the two sides trading wins between them and losing all games against the Scandinavian powerhouses.

The draw for the group phase of the EHF EURO 2024 will take place on 10 May in Düsseldorf, where the 24 teams will learn their fate. They have all been divided into four pots.

Pot 1: Sweden, Spain, Denmark, France, Norway, Iceland
Pot 2: Germany, Netherlands, Slovenia, Hungary, Portugal, Austria
Pot 3: Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Poland, Czech Republic, Serbia, North Macedonia
Pot 4: Switzerland, Romania, Montenegro, Greece, Georgia, Faroe Islands

Germany are already been seeded in Group A, which will start the tournament in Düsseldorf (opening match) and Berlin. Croatia are seeded in Group B in Mannheim, while Iceland start their campaign in Group C in Munich. Norway head to Group D in Berlin, while EHF EURO 2022 champions Sweden have been assigned to Group E in Mannheim. World champions Denmark headline Group F in Munich. The first two teams of each group qualify for the main round.

Photo: Handball Federation Portugal