Men's EHF Euro 2024 preview: Teams, full schedule and how to watch live Olympic qualifying action
The 16th edition of the European Men's Handball Championship takes place from 10-28 January with one Olympic quota spot for Paris 2024 up for grabs. Find out the teams involved, full schedule and how to watch the tournament in Germany live.
Handball
Will Sweden defend their continental crown at the 2024 EHF European Men’s Handball Championship in Germany from 10-28 January.
The Swedes edged out Spain 27-26 in the 2022 final with both nations among 24 teams battling to be crowned European champions in 2024.
There is one quota place at Paris 2024 on offer to the winners or the top-ranked side in the event that Games hosts France or reigning world champions Denmark, both of whom have already obtained quota spots, take gold.
Discover the schedule, favourites, and how to watch the live action below.
Where is the 2024 EHF European Men’s Handball Championship?
For the first time in tournament history, the EHF European Men’s Handball Championship is being held in Germany.
The competition will be played in six different cities across Germany - Düsseldorf, Cologne, Berlin, Hamburg, Mannheim and Munich.
Cologne's Lanxess Arena, the home of the EHF Champions League Final Four for the past decade, will stage the action from the semi-finals onwards.
The hosts will be keen to secure a third European title after previous triumphs in 2004 and 2016.
Who has won the most EHF European Men’s Handball Championship?
Reigning champions Sweden are the most succcessful nation at the EHF European Men’s Handball Championship with five victories.
They won the very first European Championship in 1994, defeating Russia 34-21 in the final in Porto, Portugal.
The Swedes won three of the first four European Championships, but had to wait fully 20 years before securing their fifth in 2022.
France are next with three triumphs while Spain, Denmark and Germany have two titles apiece.
Spain suffered their fifth final defeat in 2022 and have the most medals in tournament history with nine.
Sweden took their record tally to five European titles in 2022
EHF European Men’s Handball Championship 2024: Format and how to qualify for Paris 2024
The tournament begins with a preliminary round where the 24 teams are placed in six groups of four.
Only the top two in each group will advance to the main round which consists of two groups of six. The points that the teams have obtained in the preliminary round against teams that also have advanced are carried over to the main round.
The top two teams from each group in the main round progress to the semi-finals in Cologne.
The highest-ranked NOC not already qualified for this year’s Olympic Games in Paris will secure a quota spot for the competition.
Out of the teams competing in Germany, only France (Olympic hosts) and Denmark (2023 world champions) have quota places in Paris.
In March, the 2024 IHF Men's Olympic Qualification Tournaments will decide who completes the field of 12 teams for Paris 2024.
Nikola Karabatic will retire after the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
EHF European Men’s Handball Championship 2024: Teams and stars to watch
Defending champions Sweden are among the favourites for this year’s European Championship.
Jim Gottfridsson was named tournament MVP two years ago, and the 31-year-old centre back remains the biggest star of the Swedish team.
Barcelona left wing Hampus Wanne was another key man in Sweden’s latest European title, and he is enjoying another great season with 11-time Champions League winners on top in both their Champions League group and domestic league.
Denmark will be desperate to improve on their third place from 2022 where they went down 29-25 to Spain in the semi-finals.
The Danes last year completed a hat-trick of world titles and they are certainly one of the teams to beat in Germany.
The EHF Excellence Awards MVP of last season, Simon Pytlick, has just returned from an ankle injury for Flensburg-Handewitt after two months out and is in the Denmark squad.
Mathias Gidsel, who was MVP and top scorer at the 2023 World Championship, has continued his impressive performances in this season's Bundesliga for Füchse Berlin with 141 goals in 18 games.
Three-time IHF World Player of the Year Mikkel Hansen made his comeback to the national team in November after a 10-month absence due to stress symptoms. Hansen, now 36, is regarded as one of greatest handballers of all time and still plays a valuable role for the team.
Olympic champions France, led by another three-time IHF World Player of the Year in Nikola Karabatić, are once again among the top contenders.
Karabatic, who turns 40 in April, will end his career at Paris 2024 where he will bid for a fourth Olympic gold medal.
Before that, he is aiming for a fourth European title after previous successes in 2006, 2010 and 2014.
Barça trio Dika Mem, Tim N’Guessan and Melvyn Richardson go to Germany full of confidence as their side dominates yet again this season.
Richardson is the top scorer in the Spanish league with 84 goals in 15 matches, while Mem is the third highest-scorer in the Champions League so far this season.
Spain just missed out on a third consecutive gold two years ago but the ‘Hispanos’ took their medal-winning streak at the European Championship to five.
If they are to extend that to six, much depends again on superstar playmaker Alex Dujshebaev, his brother Daniel and Barça goalkeeper Gonzalo Pérez de Vargas.
In the battle for bronze at the 2022 World Championship, Spain got the better of Sweden 39-36. And it will be no surprise if the consistent Spaniards ended up on the podium once more.
Two-time World Championship runners-up Norway and hosts Germany are also among the genuine challengers at this European Championship.
Spain just missed out on completing a hat-trick of EURO triumphs, going down to Sweden in the 2022 final
EHF Men’s Handball European Championship 2024: Groups
Group A (Düsseldorf and Berlin)
- North Macedonia
- Germany
- Switzerland
- France
Group B (Mannheim)
- Spain
- Austria
- Romania
- Croatia
Group C (Munich)
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Montenegro
- Serbia
Group D (Berlin)
- Norway
- Poland
- Slovenia
- Faroe Islands
Group E (Mannheim)
- Sweden
- Netherlands
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Georgia
Group F (Munich)
- Denmark
- Czechia
- Portugal
- Greece
Denmark beat France in Stockholm to claim won a third consecutive world title in 2023
EHF Men’s Handball European Championship 2024: Schedule
All times are in Central European Time / CET (GMT/UTC +1).
Preliminary round
Group A
Wednesday, 10 January
- 18:00 France v North Macedonia
- 20:45 Germany v Switzerland
Sunday, 14 January
- 18:00 Switzerland v France
- 20:30 North Macedonia v Germany
Tuesday, 16 January
- 18:00 North Macedonia v Switzerland
- 20:30 France v Germany
Group B
Friday, 12 January
- 18:00 Austria v Romania
- 20:30 Spain v Croatia
Sunday, 14 January
- 18:00 Romania v Spain
- 20:30 Croatia v Austria
Tuesday, 16 January
- 18:00 Croatia v Romania
- 20:30 Spain v Austria
Group C
Friday, January 12
- 18:00 Iceland v Serbia
- 20:30 Hungary v Montenegro
Sunday, 14 January
- 18:00 Montenegro v Iceland
- 20:30 Serbia v Hungary
Tuesday, 16 January
- 18:00 Serbia v Montenegro
- 20:30 Iceland v Hungary
Group D
Thursday, 11 January
- 18:00 Slovenia v Faroe Islands
- 20:30 Norway v Poland
Saturday, 13 January
- 18:00 Poland v Slovenia
- 20:30 Faroe Islands v Norway
Monday, 15 January
- 18:00 Poland v Faroe Islands
- 20:30 Norway v Slovenia
Group E
Thursday, 11 January
- 18:00 Netherlands v Georgia
- 20:30 Sweden v Bosnia and Herzegovina
Saturday, 13 January
- 18:00 Bosnia and Herzegovina v Netherlands
- 20:30 Georgia v Sweden
Monday, 15 January
- 18:00 Bosnia and Herzegovina v Georgia
- 20:30 Sweden v Netherlands
Group F
Thursday, 11 January
- 18:00 Portugal v Greece
- 20:30 Denmark v Czechia
Saturday, 13 January
- 18:00 Czechia v Portugal
- 20:30 Greece v Denmark
Monday, 15 January
- 18:00 Czechia v Greece
- 20:30 Denmark v Portugal
Main Round
Group I (in Cologne)
Wednesday, 17 January
- D2 v F2
- D1 v E1
Thursday, 18 January
- A2 v C2
- C1 v B2
- A1 v B1
Friday, 19 January
- F1 v E1
Saturday, 20 January
- A2 v B2
- C1 v B1
- A1 v C2
Monday, 22 January
- A2 v C1
- B1 v C2
- A1 v B2
Wednesday, 24 January
- B2 v C2
- A2 v B1
- A1 v C1
Group II (in Hamburg)
Wednesday, 17 January
- F1 v E2
Friday, 19 January
- D2 v E2
- D1 v F2
Sunday, 21 January
- D2 v F1
- E1 v F2
- D1 v E2
Tuesday, 23 January
- E2 v F2
- D2 v E1
- D1 v F1
Semi-finals (in Cologne)
Friday, 26 January
- 17:45 Semi-final 1 (Group I winner v Group II runner-up)
- 20:30: Semi-final 2 (Group I runner-up v Group II winner)
Finals (in Cologne)
Sunday, 28 January
- 15:00 Bronze medal match
- 17:45 Final
How to watch the 2024 the EHF Men’s Handball European Championship
The 2024 the EHF Men’s Handball European Championship will be shown live around the world.
EHFTV.com, the official channel of the European Handball Federation, will broadcast selected matches and highlights. Geographical restrictions may apply.
Here is a list of the official broadcast and digital live streaming partners across different territories.
- Albania - Arena Sport
- Australia - beIN Sports
- Austria - ORF/DYN
- Bosnia and Herzegovina - Arena Sport
- Canada - DAZN
- Croatia - Arena Sport/RTL
- Czechia - AMC/Czech TV
- Denmark - TV2
- Faroe Islands - KVF
- Finland - Viaplay
- France - beIN Sports/TF1
- Georgia - Silknet
- Germany - ARD/ZDF/DYN
- Greece - Cosmote
- Hungary - MTVA
- Iceland - RUV
- Israel - Charlton
- Italy - Pallamano.tv
- Japan - DAZN
- Montenegro - Arenasport/RTCG
- Netherlands – Ziggo
- New Zealand - beIN Sports
- North Macedonia – Arena Sport/MKRTV
- Norway - Viaplay
- Poland - Eurosport
- Portugal - RTP
- Romania - Prima Sport/DigiTV
- Serbia - Radio Television of Serbia (RTS)/Arena Sport
- Slovakia - AMC/RTVS
- Slovenia - RTV Slovenija/Arena Sport
- South and Central America - ESPN
- Spain - RTVE
- Sweden - Viaplay
- Switzerland - SRG/DYN
- Thailand - beIN Sports
- Türkiye - beIN Sports
- Ukraine - SPORT 1 (Poverhnost TV)
- United Kingdom - Viaplay
- United States - beIN Sports