Four months after their Olympic triumph in Lille after a one-sided final against Les Bleues (29-21), defending champion Norway is the big favorite for the women’s handball Euro which begins on November 28. Its main opponent remains France, which has been chasing a European title since 2018.
Three countries for one crown
For economic reasons, the Euro is no longer organized by a single country. This time, there are three of them to receive the elite of women’s handball from the old continent. The European Championship takes place in Switzerland, Hungary and Austria. The French team plays its entire first round in Basel on the Franco-Swiss border. Depending on their ranking at the end of the first round, the Blues will then head to either Debrecen in Hungary or Vienna, the Austrian capital. It is there that the final phase, the semi-finals and then the final will be played on Friday December 13 and Sunday December 15.
France conquers a second coronation…
The last Euro contested in 2022 remains in the throat of the France team. She only took fourth place, eliminated in the semi-final by her Norwegian rival before being beaten by Montenegro in the small final. Always very complicated and tough in a sport with very strong European domination, the Euro is not the tournament which is most successful, historically, for the Blues. Triple world champions, they have only won the tournament once in 2018. It was in the final against Russia in Bercy. Two years later, they failed in the final. On the list of winners, the Blues have one silver medal (2020) and three bronze medals (2002, 2006, 2016).
…with a new coach
You have to get used to it: Olivier Krumbholz, the coach since 1998 apart from a break between 2013 and 2016, is no longer there. The keeper of the keys to the blue house is now called Sébastien Gardillou. The former Lorrain assistant has gained ground and the position of coach. It is up to him to leave the France team on the path to success. To achieve this, the selection is almost identical to that which won the world title in 2023 and Olympic silver this summer. This French team still has the same ambition.
Except that in 2024 it is not the best team in the world as it was in 2023. Its complicated preparation (2V, 2D) shows that nothing is won in advance. “No, France does not have the best team in the world but they must get back to it. France no longer has the best defense in the world as it once had but it must find it again, insists the new boss. Our minimum objective for this Euro is to qualify for the semi-final. Once you get there, anything is possible. »
Norway, obviously the big favorite
World champion and Olympic vice-champion, France is not the favorite of the tournament. The team that, on paper, should triumph is Norway. The Scandinavian selection, Olympic champion in August at the end of a one-sided and suspenseless final against the French (29-21), is the queen of the Euro. It triumphed in 2010, 2014, 2016, 2020 and 2022, leaving crumbs only to Montenegro in 2012 and France in 2018. Even without the former Parisian Stine Oftedal who retired after the Games, Norway remains the best team on the planet. Apart from France, who can upset her? Sweden, Denmark, Germany and Hungary who play at home can come and tickle the hierarchy. However, if logic is respected, we risk having once again a France-Norway final unless the two nations meet earlier in the tournament.
24 teams in 6 groups
Big news for this 2024 edition, the EHF, the European Federation has officially decided to extend the tournament from 16 to 24 teams as for the men’s tournament. The 24 nations are grouped into six groups of 4. At the end of the preliminary round which begins this Thursday with Hungary – Turkey and Spain – Portugal opening at 6 p.m., the first two in each group advance to the main round.
The qualified nations are then divided into two groups: group I for the teams from groups A, B and C and group II for those from groups D, E and F. At the end of the other four days of this new phase of pools, the first two in each group qualify for the semi-finals. The final four takes place like a classic elimination phase.
The Blues program
The France team’s Euro 2024 will start this Thursday, November 28 with a first match against Poland in Basel (Switzerland) at 8:30 p.m. Les Bleues will then continue with their two other opponents in Pool C with Spain this Saturday at 6 p.m., then Portugal on Monday December 2 at 8:30 p.m., still in Basel.
In the event of qualification for the main round, Sébastien Gardillou’s players will have four matches to play from Thursday December 5 to Wednesday December 11 in Debrecen (Hungary) and Vienna (Austria). The semi-finals will then take place on Friday December 13 in the Austrian capital before the grand final on December 15 at 6 p.m., still in Vienna.
The calendar
November 28 – December 3: preliminary round in Debrecen, Basel and Innsbruck
December 5-11: main tour in Debrecen and Vienna
December 13: semi-finals in Vienna
December 15: match for 3rd place and final in Vienna
On which TV channel?
The 2024 European Women’s Handball Championship is broadcast in full on the BeIN SPORTS group channels. The TF1 group also owns the unencrypted broadcast rights to several matches of the French team (three group matches, the semi-final and the final). In the preliminary round, the match against Poland will be broadcast on TFX and that against Spain on TMC.
