All round 1 winners victorious again

• France levelled the all-time qualifiers’ goal record by a 55:8 at Latvia, after the hosts had scored only once before the break
• Croatia clearly won the premiere of the Balkan derby against their neighbours from Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Besides, Romania, Spain, Denmark and the Netherlands had easy-going matches and took clear wins
• In the EHF EURO Cup, Norway scored a new goal record in the 44:29 against Switzerland – the only home victory on Saturday.

GROUP 1

Greece vs Romania 20:32 (8:15)

It was a bit more challenging compared to their 49:17 opening victory against Bosnia-Herzegovina, but the second win for Romania had never been endangered. After the 22:23 at Croatia, this result is again a step ahead for the Greek team, which had lost their EHF EURO 2022 Qualifiers against Germany and the Netherlands in a much clearer way. Thanks to a 9:3 right from the start, the visitors were constantly ahead, but it took them until minute 50 to have their first double-figured advance at 26:16. Best scorers were Alexandra Dindiligan with five strikes for Romania and the Greek duo Maria Chatziparasidou and Agni Zygoura with four goals each. 

Menelaos Danilos, head coach Greece:
We knew it was very difficult to be competitive with Romania for 60 minutes. Assessing both matches against Croatia and Romania, we promised to be on the pitch from the first to the 60th minute and we did. We have to keep all the positives, improve our weaknesses and go into the two important games with Bosnia in the best possible conditions.

Florentin Konstantin Pera, head coach Romania: 

It was a nice match and both teams gave their best. We didn't have the whole team at our disposal. We had players with injuries. Time was short, we only did two training sessions and we are happy with the two wins. Greece played very well, with passion and I believe they are a prosperous team. 

Bosnia Herzegovina vs Croatia 17:31 (6:12)

It was the first-ever duel of both handball-crazy neighbours, and as could be expected after round 1, the winners were confirmed quite early. Croatia shattered the Bosnian hopes with a 7:1 start, and that distance remained after a goal-poor first half, in which the visitor only allowed six. After the break, both sides accelerated and the plus in speed converted into a plus in goals. In minute 40, the gap was ten goals at 20:10, the top scorers of the uneven derby were Dajana Milosavljevic and Nikolina Zadravec with each five for Croatia and the Bosnian duo Armina Isic/Ana Vrancic with four goals each.   

GROUP 3

Finland vs Netherlands 13:31 (7:15)

As expected, the Netherlands did not have a problem taking their second victory after beating Portugal 38:27 in round 1. A 6:0 run from 3:3 to 9:3 paved the way, finally, 12 of 13 Dutch court players were on the scorer list. Larissa Nüsser scored for the first double-figured advance at 18:8, at 27:12 it was 15 goals. Finland were defeated for the second time after the 21:31 at the Czech Republic. Lotta Kulju was the best scorer for the hosts with four goals. It was their third defeat against the Netherlands in the same number of matches. 

Per Johansson, head coach Netherlands: 
I think that we were superior to Finland, but especially in the first 20 minutes they were fighting with everything they had. In the second half, we were better. And it was important for some of our young players whom I gave a chance now to get bigger responsibility in this kind of games.

Tomas Westerlund, head coach Finnland: 
It was a good match for us. Goalkeeper Ilona Kosonen played well and we fought and didn't give up, but we have a lot to improve offensively, 13 scored goals are not enough. The Netherlands defended cleverly and read our game too easily. They were much better, they won every one-on-one situation, so our goalkeeper was constantly getting shots from six meters.

GROUP 4

Latvia vs France 8:55 (1:26)

France levelled the 30-year-old all-time goal record of the Women’s EHF EURO Qualifiers, scored by Croatia with their 55:14 against Moldova. Since then, no other team had scored more goals in a single match. France were close with their 50:16 against Italy on Wednesday, Slovenia in the same group were even closer with their 51:13 against Latvia. The hosts were the second team in the history of EHF EURO qualifiers, which scored only one goal in the first half (by Linda Krole) after Greece against Spain in October 1995 (1:24, final result 12:28). After two rounds, France have a record-breaking goal difference of 106:21 (+85). Alicia Toublanc (12) and Chloe Valentini (11) scored double-figured for the Olympic champion. Latvia’s eight goals are equal with the lowest number by a single team before – like Finland against Slovakia in 2016 (8:25) and Iceland at Croatia in 2019 (8:29).  

GROUP 5

Azerbaijan vs Spain 18:38 (12:20)

In their anniversary game – their 75^th EHF EURO qualifier – Spain were not tested that much and easily took their 58^th victory.  And they missed another record by exactly only one goal: Their next strike against North Macedonia in round 3 will be their 2000^th goal in the qualifiers. Azerbaijan were on an equal level in the first 15 minutes, then the visitors pulled ahead by a 6:0 run for 15:7. Despite 12 saves from goalkeeper Ljubov Rasulova, the hosts were chanceless, and again lost by a margin of more than 20 goals after the 17:40 against North Macedonia. On the other hand, Spain have a goal difference of +53 after two matches. The best scorers were Kamila Bayramova with five for the hosts and Maitane Ecceverria with eight for Spain

GROUP 8

Kosovo vs Denmark 19:40 (11:21)

After the 44:17 victory on home ground against the same opponent on Thursday, Denmark left no doubt on the winners in the re-match. Right before the break, youngster Julie Scaglione netted for the first double-figured advance of the three-time EHF EURO champions, in the end, the gap was only three goals smaller than in the first encounter. Kosovo remains without a point in the final qualification stage, losing their 13th match. Only the top scorers were equal: Leonora Demaj (Kosovo) and Elma Halilcevic (Denmark) netted eight goals each.

EHF EURO Cup

Norway vs. Switzerland 44:29 (23:18)

Including the EHF EURO Cup prior to the Women's EHF EURO 2022, Norway took their eighth victory in the same number of matches. In the duel of the round 1 winners, the defending EHF EURO and EHF EURO Cup champions scored the highest number of goals in this competition, their second biggest win just below the 40:23 against North Macedonia in 2022 and their second biggest win against Switzerland below the 29:12. The host were down only once, at 9:10, then the Norwegians started their express mode, mainly after the break, when they extended the gap from five goals to 15. The best scorers were Vilde Ingstad with seven for the victors and Tabea Schmid with six for Switzerland. 

Thorir Hergeirsson, head coachNorway:
We played a good game in counter attack, and we enjoyed a lot of good spells in attack in general. In defence, we were very slow in the first 15 minutes, and we registered far too many shots at our goal during the first half. In the second half, it was much better. It was a fantastic atmosphere in Jotron Arena today. It was a very entertaining match, especially for everyone who enjoys watching goals!

Emilie Hovden, Norway:
We struggled a little bit defensively in the early stage of the match, but we established our defence bit by bit. That made it possible for us to run and score many goals, especially through counter attacks, as we wanted. It’s been a good first week for us at the EHF EURO Cup, and it was a fantastic atmosphere here in Larvik, with a lot of noise from the spectators.

Knut Ove Joa, head coach Switzerland:
We had good periods against one of the best teams in the world, so the girls were doing a great job in many periods of the game. But of course, Norway is good as well, and when we’re not focused enough and disciplined enough, they punish us directly. In the end, we’re satisfied, with many periods of the game.

Daphne Gautschi, Switzerland:
I’m actually proud of my team because we scored many goals. Of course, they scored even more goals, but I think this is the best result we’ve had against Norway in the last seven years. We showed that we have qualities, from far away, from wings, from one-on-one and from the pivot. We’ve grown and learned a lot. But in the end, it’s Norway, and they showed their quality in fast breaks.