21.11.2018, 10:14
Dress rehearsals for EHF EURO teams

OVERVIEW: With the start of the EHF EURO 2018 just over a week away, the 16 teams will use the time remaining for training camps and final test matches

Dress rehearsals for EHF EURO teams

The countdown is running. The EHF EURO 2018 is approaching fast and the coaches of all participating nations are aware that the time for big experiments is over. With only a little bit more than one week left before the opening matches, it’s all about fine-tuning now.

Except for Slovenia, all teams will take to the court for one or more test matches before the tournament in France throws off next week Thursday, 29 November.

Sneak preview of the main round

Many eyes will be on the Golden League in the Telenor Arena in Oslo, where defending European champions Norway will host Denmark, EHF EURO hosts France, and Hungary.

Over the course of three days - Thursday, Saturday and Sunday - the four teams will all play against each other.

And while they are obviously in different groups in the preliminary round at the EHF EURO, the Golden League will provide a sneak preview of possible main round match-ups.

Denmark (in Group A) and France (B), as well as Hungary (C) and Norway (D) will likely meet each other again in the main round in France, so it will be interesting to see how they approach those respective games in Oslo.

More tournaments with EHF EURO teams

Three other tournaments with EHF EURO participants will take place as well over the next few days.

In Bucharest, the Carpati Trophy will see Romania, Olympic champions Russia and Serbia going head to head, with the matches being played between Thursday and Sunday.

In Alicante, Spain are hosting a four nation-event from Friday until Sunday, with fellow EHF EURO contenders Germany and Poland, as well as former world champions Brazil.

And in Cheb, Czech Republic play at home against Croatia and two teams which failed to qualify for the EHF EURO, Slovakia and Switzerland. The matches are scheduled from Wednesday until Sunday.

Additional time for training sessions

Other EHF EURO teams prefer to invest more time in training sessions.

Sweden, the hosts of the previous EHF EURO two years ago, will stay in Gothenburg for their final preparations, which include two test matches against Montenegro, on Friday and Sunday. If both teams make it through the preliminary round, they will soon meet again - in France.

The silver medallists from 2016, the Netherlands, also decided to have an extended training camp at their home base in Papendal, with just one match scheduled - against Angola on Wednesday. As the defending champions, Angola are preparing for the African Championship in Congo in December.

That leaves Slovenia as the only team which will not be in action anymore before the EHF EURO. The team from coach Uros Bregar is fully focussing on their training camp in Lasko before travelling to France next week Wednesday.

TEXT: EHF / ew