Germany ride historic comeback to seal maiden title at the W19 EHF EURO

Germany secured their maiden title at the Women’s EHF Under-19 Championship, with a 34:27 win in the final against Spain, the team which clinched the title at the 2024 IHF Women’s Youth World Championship. Denmark finished third in the standings, with a 38:14 win in the bronze medal match against Austria.

The W19 EHF EURO 2025, which took place in Podgorica, Montenegro, was the first edition of the competition with 24 teams at the start and saw the participating sides divided into six groups of four teams each, with the top two sides in each group progressing to the main round.

Probably the most balanced group was Group D, where Germany, Spain, Romania and the Faroe Islands clashed, with Germany and Spain topping the standings, after winning against their opponents and drawing in their first match, 29:29.

They were joined in the main round by Czechia and Hungary from Group A, with Czechia taking a surprising 28:24 win against the champions of the past three editions, while Hungary struggled against Poland, but eventually took a 25:24 win in the final match of the group to proceed to the next phase.

In Group B, Denmark, who were runners-up at the 2024 IHF Women’s Youth World Championship with this generation, finished first, taking a 28:26 win against Montenegro, with the hosts also progressing to the next phase.

Serbia and Sweden advanced from Group C, with France and Norway making it to the next phase from Group E, while Croatia and Austria secured their main round berths from Group F.

The battle for the quarter-final berths was hugely entertaining, with the top two teams in each group, plus the best sides on the third place in each group progressing to the knockout phase of the competition.

In Group 1, Denmark extended their winning streak to five matches and won the group, with six points, with Montenegro, Hungary and Czechia entering a three-way tie, with Montenegro finishing second and Hungary third, as both teams earned their tickets to the next phase.

Group 2 was dominated by Germany, which beat Serbia and Sweden to secure the first place, Spain joining them after a 26:27 loss against Sweden and a crucial 27:26 win against Serbia, which lifted them to the second place.

France, Croat and Austria sealed the next three berths in Group 3, with France jumping to their fourth and fifth wins in a row, after dominating Croatia, 33:13, and Austria, 31:24.

The big surprise came in the quarter-finals, where Austria delivered France a painful loss, 29:26, making it to the semi-finals. Denmark and Hungary engaged into a back-and-forth battle, the rematch of the final at the W19 EHF EURO 2023, with Denmark sealing a 20:19 win.

A generation of world champions, Spain, dominated Croatia, 23:11, while Germany confirmed their title credentials with a 35:33 win against hosts Montenegro. 

The final was going to be a rematch of the battle between Germany and Spain, after Germany took a 37:31 win against Denmark and Spain took a 28:23 win against Austria.

Spain had a strong start in the final, leading 17:13, with a fantastic performance from centre back Belen Rodriguez Lario, the MVP of the 2024 IHF Women’s Youth World Championship.

But Germany, which finished fifth at the 2025 IHF Women's Youth World Championship with this generation, bounced back, riding an oustanding second half from line player Aylin Bornhardt, who scored nine goals, and left back Marlene Tucholke, who scored eight times. They outscored Spain 21:10 in the second half to propel themselves to a 34:27 win and their maiden European title at this age category.

In the bronze medal match, Denmark thoroughly outplayed Austria with a 38:14 win, one of the largest wins in the competition.

The W19 EHF EURO 2025 was a qualification event for the 2026 IHF Women’s Junior World Championship, with the top 16 teams in the competition making it to the world handball flagship competition.

Germany, Spain, Denmark, Austria, France, Montenegro, Hungary, Croatia, Romania, Czechia, Poland, Serbia, Sweden, Norway, Iceland and Türkiye secured their spots to the 2026 IHF Women’s Junior World Championship.

W19 EHF EURO 2025 All-star Team

Goalkeeper: Goundo Gassama (Spain)
Right wing: Blandine Gros (France)
Right back: Lara Däuble (Germany)
Centre back: Belen Rodriguez (Spain)
Left back: Anne Dolberg Plougstrup (Denmark)
Left wing: Chiara Rohr (Germany)
Line player: Aurelie Egbaimo (Austria)

MVP: Natalija Lekic (Montenegro)
Top scorer: Gabija Pilikauskaite (Lithuania) — 83 goals
Best defender: Clara Mendgaard Sørensen (Denmark)

Final standings:

1. Germany
2. Spain
3. Denmark
4. Austria, 5. France, 6. Montenegro, 7. Hungary, 8. Croatia, 9. Romania, 10. Czechia, 11. Poland, 12. Serbia, 13. Sweden, 14. Norway, 15. Iceland, 16. Türkiye, 17. Netherlands, 18. Switzerland, 19. Slovenia, 20. Faroe Islands, 21. Portugal, 22. Finland, 23. North Macedonia, 24. Lithuania

Photo credit: Matchlens / EHF