Poland and Croatia look to make it two wins from two

The path to the Women’s EHF EURO 2016 began with 14 games spread across Europe on Wednesday and Thursday. As hosts Sweden are already qualified, 28 teams were left to fight for the 15 remaining places at the final tournament to be held in December next year.

Round 2 of the qualification throws off on Saturday with two games, and 12 more to follow on Sunday.

GROUP 4
FYR Macedonia vs Croatia
Saturday, 20:15 hrs. local time in Skopje – live on ehfTV

Croatia come into their second Women’s EHF EURO 2016 Qualification Phase 2 match on the back of a win against Slovenia, while FYR Macedonia will be hungry for two points after suffering a substantial defeat at the hands of Montenegro on Wednesday.

Croatia failed to qualify for the 2015 Women’s World Championship to be held later this year, and their determination to not find themselves watching their second major international tournament on TV showed against Slovenia. Andrea Penezic scored a big 10 goals, making her top scorer of the match and the first round overall.

New Macedonian head coach, Sime Simovski, who made his national team debut against mighty Montenegro in Round 1, cannot be too displeased with their loss in the first match. The experience in his young roster is difficult to compare to the EHF EURO 2012 champions and Montenegro were always expected to take the two points from that meeting.

The clash against Croatia is anticipated to be more level, though coach Dragan Mrdjen – also new this year – will be eager to lead his team to as many early victories as possible in order to secure their ticket to Sweden. 

GROUP 5
Slovakia vs Poland
Sunday, 18:00 hrs. local time in Sala

2013 World Championship Semi-finalists Poland enjoyed a comfortable 29:12 win against Finland when they hosted the Scandinavian side on Wednesday. Slovakia on the other hand, lost by more than expected versus Hungary.

The odds are in Poland’s favour, thanks not only to their strong roster of domestic players but also international stars such as Karolina Kudlacz-Gloc (Leipzig).

There is one obstacle for Poland to put their best foot forward against Slovakia – Kinga Achruk (nee Byzdra), centre back for Women’s EHF Champions League title-holders Buducnost, was unable to play in the opener against Finland due to a knee injury. It appears doubtful she will be on court for the second-leg match.  

Slovakia have their own injury woes, with star player Lydia Jakubisova currently sidelined with a torn cruciate ligament.