06.07.2016, 12:13
Main round throws off at Women's 18 European Open

NEWS REPORT: Denmark, Russia, Norway and the Netherlands have the best chances to reach the knockout stages at the Gothenburg event as main round starts on Wednesday

Main round throws off at Women's 18 European Open

The powerhouses of women's handball confirm at the current edition of the European Open in Goithenburg that they are also among the best when it comes to the development of young players.

The four teams that enter the main round on Wednesday with two points already are Norway, Netherlands, Russia and Denmark.

On the senior level Norway are the current EHF EURO, world and Olympic champions, the Netherlands are the silver medallists of the World Championship 2015, Russia became the first team to qualify for the Women's EHF EURO 2016 and Denmark's most recent success was a bronze at the World Championship 2013.

At the Women's 18 European Open all four went unscathed und unbeaten through the preliminary round. Denmark topped Group A with three wins from three, and so did Russia in Group B.

Norway in Group C and the Netherlands in Group D had four games each to play but also won them all.

The two aforementioned and the two latter teams respectively now face each other in the main round. Together with Denmark and Russia, Spain and Sweden are in Group 1. Netherlands, Norway, Romania and France are in Group 2.

All main round matches are played on Wednesday, the semi-finals are scheduled for Thursday, the match for third place and the final will take place on Friday.

Watch the European Open live

For the remaining days of the tournament, sportway.se offers a live stream for the majority of main round matches including the final and the bronze medal match.

The entire package costs 16 euro. Matches on demand are available for 8 euro per match. The full schedule can be viewed here.

Photos: Peter Birgenstam

TEXT: EHF / ts