The European Men’s Handball Championship next January will be the first major competition in handball history to be held in three countries. The draw for the highly anticipated tournament was held on Friday, which saw the Croatia handball team grouped with rivals they know well, reports Gol.hr on June 28, 2019.
The Croatian men's handball team will fight in Group A of the European Championships, which will take place from January 9 to 26 next year in Austria, Sweden and Norway. Croatia’s group includes Belarus, Montenegro and Serbia, with all games held in Graz, revealed the draw in Vienna on Friday.
For the first time, the European Championship will include 24 teams, which will be divided into six groups with four teams in the first round, with the two top teams from each group continuing to the second round.
If Croatia continues in the competition, in the second round, they will move to Vienna to meet against the two first-place teams from Group B, which includes Czech Republic, Northern Macedonia, Austria and Ukraine, and Group C, which boasts Spain, Germany, Latvia and the Netherlands.
The two best teams from both groups of the second round will secure a place in the semifinals.
Both semifinals and the final will be played in Stockholm.
Recall, at the last Euros in January 2018 in Split, Croatia took fifth place. The title was won by Spain, who defeated Sweden in the final, while the bronze went to France.
So far, Croatia has won five medals at European Championships, two silver (2008 in Norway and 2010 in Austria) and three bronze medals (1994 in Portugal, 2012 in Serbia and 2016 in Poland).
? Men’s #ehfeuro2020 Final Tournament Draw: #dreamwinremember pic.twitter.com/0Mxh5JOi2u
— EHF EURO (@EHFEURO) June 28, 2019
Group A (Graz): Croatia, Belarus, Montenegro, Serbia
Group B (Vienna): Czech Republic, Northern Macedonia, Austria, Ukraine
Group C (Trondheim): Spain, Germany, Latvia, Netherlands
Group D (Trondheim): France, Norway, Portugal, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Group E (Malmo): Denmark, Hungary, Iceland, Russia
Group F (Gothenburg): Sweden, Slovenia, Switzerland, Poland
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