Main round berths to be decided in group A on Monday
Monday marks the final preliminary round day in groups A in Herning and group C in Oslo/Baerum. In group A, everything is possible: all four teams can still qualify for the main round, with Spain having the best chances.
In group C, France and Norway will play to top the group. Meanwhile group E play their second-round matches in Malmö, with a crucial match between Croatia and the Netherlands to start the day.
GROUP A
Austria vs Serbia
Monday 19 January, 18:00 CET, live on EHFTV
H2H: 2-1-0
- Austria need to win by at least four goals and then hope for a Spanish win against Germany later to proceed to the main round, Serbia need to win to be sure of progression
- Austria are on zero points after their defeats against Germany (27:30) and Spain (25:30), while Serbia caused a major surprise by beating Germany 30:27 after losing 27:29 against Spain to be on two points
- the two sides have met just once at an EHF EURO, with Austria winning 37:31 in Linz in 2010; their last match was a draw at the 2013 IHF Men's World Championship
- Sebastian Frimmel is Austria’s top scorer after two matches with 13 goals, one strike ahead of Serbian Uroš Kojadinović
- goalkeepers Constantin Möstl (Austria) and Dejan Milosavljev (Serbia) have both made 18 saves
- Mijajlo Marsenić will become number 1 in the Serbian all-time ranking for EHF EURO matches with his 21st game
- Austria are still hoping for their 10th European championship win
We lost the first match against Spain and if we lose against Austria we're out, so we need to be humble and to prepare really well because this will be like a final if we want to go to the main round.
We know the importance of the Spain game. We're not out yet and everything is still in and we have to give it all, maybe 110 per cent this time against Spain because they're strong.
We have been excited about this match since many months ago, but we are already through two really hard games. Now we have Germany, that we think is one of the top national teams in the world, and we will fight until the end against them.
Our goal is always to be better and better every game. The result was good for us, but I think the next game against Norway will be really difficult. But if we come with our strength I hope we will be ready physically and mentally, and we’ll see that we are.
We know we will have a packed house on Monday night, ready to push us in a tough game. We are qualified for the next phase, that’s the first part, but now we want to remain unbeaten.
We have to make good saves and good stops and defence. If we have strong defence and don't get 36 goals against us and we have some saves, and we can run maybe fast breaks to make some easy goals, then we have a chance. If we don't manage to get some saves and we always have to fight against the strong defence from Croatia, then probably it will be a tough one for us.
We want to do better in all departments – fast breaks, and running back. Defence and offence. Everything must be a little bit better, coming up against strong teams in every game. We have to do better ourselves and see what that brings.
