Formidable France look to secure their berth in Poland

Czech Republic take on Switzerland and FYR Macedonia know they need to be at the top of their game against a France side hungry to book their ticket to Poland early in Group 6.

In Group 7, Germany will host Spain for a sold-out match in Mannheim.

The EHF live ticker is available for all matches.

Group 6: Switzerland vs. Czech Republic / Wednesday 29 April, 20:00 hrs in Schaffhausen

Despite playing away, Czech Republic are the favourites ahead of Wednesday’s match against Switzerland.

The Czechs currently sit at third on the group table with one point courtesy of a draw with FYR Macedonia in their last qualification phase game in November last year.

Switzerland lost to FYR Macedonia by seven, indicating a Czech victory is the likely outcome when the teams take to the court in Schaffhausen.

The fact that Switzerland have not qualified for a EHF EURO final tournament since 2006 whereas Czech Republic have not missed one since 2008 also works in the Czech’s favour ahead of this match – though whether they can overcome France or FYR Macedonia to take second place on the table before the end of the qualification phase will be a different question.

As always, Czech Republic will be relying heavily on powerhouse back Filip Jicha, whose performance is vital to the team’s success.

Group 6: FYR Macedonia vs. France / Wednesday 29 April, 20:15 hrs in Skopje (live on ehfTV)

Though FYR Macedonia should give France a run for their money, it is difficult to bet against the current world, European and Olympic champions.

With the most valuable player of Qatar 2015, Thierry Omeyer, IHF World Handball Player of the Year 2014 Nikola Karabatic and a bench almost as strong as the starting seven, France are the most formidable side in handball at the moment.

Coach Claude Onesta has made it clear his goal is to secure four points from their two upcoming meetings with FYR Macedonia. Such an achievement would book France their ticket to Poland.

FYR Macedonia know they must be better than their best to beat France – and the home crowd will undoubtedly help the team achieve that objective.

Big shooting Kiril Lazarov in particular will be hoping to cause problems for Omeyer between the posts. The high-scoring back currently tops the scoring list for the EHF EURO 2016 Qualification with 23 goals.

Group 7: Germany vs. Spain / Wednesday 29 April, 18:10 hrs in Mannheim

The meeting between these two world-class sides should be one of the most exciting to take place on Wednesday.

Both teams come into the match with four points thanks to two wins – one each over Austria and Finland, not to mention strong performances so far this year.

Spain finished fourth at the World Championship, while Germany finished seventh, and both teams topped their group in the first stage of the tournament. 

Germany easily defeated Switzerland 30:18 in a friendly match on Sunday, which means Spain are taking to the court against intimidating opponents who will undoubtedly benefit from the home crowd advantage.

A tight battle can be expected on the field, but fans can also look forward to a hot contest between the posts. Both Carsten Lichtlein for Germany and Gonzalo Perez de Vargas for Spain are in outstanding form.

As both teams are undefeated so far, it would appear Germany and Spain will be the teams from Group 7 to take the tickets to Poland, which means these matches will likely determine final ranking rather than who secures the final tournament berth.

The match in Mannheim is already close to be sold out with 13,500 spectators expected.

Group 7: Finland vs. Austria / Wednesday 29 April, 18:30 hrs in Vantaa

With two losses each so far and group opponents that both ranked in the top seven at the recent World Championship, it would seem Finland and Austria have only an outside chance of reaching the final tournament in Poland in January.

Nevertheless, both teams will be fighting hard to take the two points on Wednesday.

Austria have history on their side ahead of this meeting – Finland have never qualified for an EHF EURO while Austria have contested the final tournament more than once.

Austria were also present in Qatar, where they had a strong performance that saw them progress to the Last 16.