40 national teams vie for European beach titles

40 national sides are ready to take the sand for the Beach Handball EURO 2019 in Stare Jablonki, Poland, from July 2 to 7. With 20 teams each in the men’s and women’s competitions, this year’s Beach Handball EURO will be the biggest one in history.

 

In the women’s competition, Norway will aim to defend their title won in 2017 when they beat Poland in the final. Norway will play from Group A, taking on the Netherlands, Croatia, Romania and Turkey, while Poland start in Group B, meeting France, Hungary, Portugal and Cyprus. Current world champions, Greece, begin their campaign in Group C, which also features Spain, Italy, Switzerland and Slovenia. Group D will see Denmark, Russia, Ukraine, Germany and North Macedonia battle for the tickets to the next round.

 

Three-time winners Spain enter the men’s competition as the defending champions. They will take on Norway, Germany, Romania and Turkey in Group A, while Group B features two-time champions Russia, Denmark, Serbia, Portugal and Slovenia. Hungary, Sweden, Poland, France and Montenegro will play from Group D.

 

They may not be the defending champions but they are one of the big teams to beat – Croatia are the record title winners in the men’s competition and were the top-ranked European team at the World Championship in 2018, behind Brazil. Croatia won four consecutive titles from 2009 to 2015, and have also taken one silver medal and collected bronze at the previous EURO in 2017. In Group C, they will meet Switzerland, Ukraine, Italy and North Macedonia.

 

The Beach Handball EURO was first played in 2000. The only team other than Croatia, Spain and Russia to have won the men’s title is Belarus, at the maiden event. Croatia, Russia and Hungary are the record winners in the women’s competition, having raised two trophies each. Norway, Germany, Ukraine and Italy have each won the women’s gold medal once.

 

At the end of the preliminary round, the top three sides in each group will progress to the main round, while the remainder play a series of placement matches in the consolation round. From the main round, eight teams will go on to the knock-out stage, starting with the quarter-finals.

 

More information on the Beach Handball EURO 2019, including where to watch, can be found on the official website.