The 13th. European Handball Championship will take place from 12. until 28. January 2018 in Croatia. Here you will find all important information about the European Championship: dates, schedule, TV programme, groups, mode and the DHB team.
The European Championship is hosted by the European Handball Federation (EHF) and is one of the three absolute highlights in international handball alongside the World Championship and the Olympic Games. For many experts, the European Championship is even the best handball tournament ever.
Unlike at the Olympics or World Championships, no hopelessly defeated handball exotics are represented at an European Championship, which is why almost every match is exciting and every team has to weigh everything from the first match on.
In 2018, the European Championship will take place in handball crazy Croatia for the second time after 2000. The title defender is Germany, which in 2016 won the title in Poland by surprise.
The matches of the German national team will all be broadcast live on public television by ARD and ZDF. At SPOX you will also find a LIVE TICKER for every DHB game. Where the fans in Germany will be able to see the matches without German participation has not yet been clarified.
The 16 participating nations are divided into four groups of four teams each. The three best teams of each group will be entered into the main round. The points collected against the two teams who also made progressed in the preliminary round will be taken away.
The main round consists of two groups of six players. The best three teams from preliminary round group A and preliminary round group B form the main group 1. The best three teams from preliminary round group C and preliminary round group D form the main round group 2.
Each nation that progressed from Group A in the preliminary round will play against each team that progressed from Group B in the main round and vice versa. The same applies to the teams from the preliminary round groups C and D. Thus, each team has three games in the main round.
The best two teams from the main round groups 1 and 2 enter the semi-finals. There, the first placed player from main round group 1 will meet the second placed player from main round group 2. The first placed from main round group 2 will be confronted with the second placed from main round group 1. The winners will then face each other in the final, the losers in the match for third place.
Arena Zagreb (Zagreb): The 15,200 spectators of the multifunctional arena in the Croatian capital will host the matches of preliminary round group C with Germany, main round group 1 and the final matches.
Spaladium Arena (Split): The hall in the harbour town in the south of Croatia offers space for 12,500 fans. Here the hosts play their preliminary round matches.
Gradska dvorana Varazdin (Varazdin): Varazdin is a city of 47,000 inhabitants in the north of the country. The enthusiasm for handball is enormous here. The hall has a capacity of 5,200 spectators. Here the matches of Group D and Group 2 will take place. So if the DHB team should make it through the preliminary round, Varazdin would continue.
Sportska dvorana Zatika (Porec): With a capacity of 3,700 spectators, this hall is the smallest venue of this European Championships. In the coastal city in the northwest of Croatia, Group B’s preliminary round games will rise.
France, Croatia and Denmark are considered the top favourites for the title win. Spain and Germany are also expected shortly after. Norway may also be expected to enter the semi-finals. If the tournament winner is not one of the six nations mentioned, this would be a huge sensation.
Although the DHB team starts the tournament as defending champions, the Bad Boys are not among the absolute top favourites. Denmark and France in particular have too high a quality standard for this. The Croatians, who are also strong, also have a home advantage.
Nevertheless, the semi-final must be the goal for Germany, which has a new national coach after the change from Dagur Sigurdsson to Japan with Christian Prokop. In order to achieve this goal, the German team is not allowed to make a single mistake in the preliminary round and should go into the next round with four points.
In the main round, Denmark and Spain are expected to be two very strong teams. So, if the Prokop squad were to make progress with four points, a win against Spain or Denmark in the main round would probably be enough to make it into the final four.
Prokop had to report a 28 squad. From this pool the national coach can choose his final line-up for the European Championship. On the 15th. In December, the 38-year-old determined 20 players with whom he will spend the final weeks of preparation. Eight other actors are available as reserve players.
On the 12th. On 1 January Prokop will have to report the DHB team in Zagreb with a maximum of 16 players to the European Association. During the tournament, six changes are possible with players from the extended 28 players squad.
The European Handball Championship has been held every two years since 1994. Sweden is European record champion with four titles. The unofficial predecessor of the European Championship was the Baltic Cup, which took place from 1968 to 1989.
In 2004, the DHB team triumphed in the final against hosts Slovenia with 30:25.2016, Germany won the title in Poland with a 24:17 victory against Spain in the final.