Shortly before the start of the European Championship

Home crowd behind them! Handball women motivated

Can the Austrians make a big impression at their home European Championships?(Bild: GEPA)

With their home crowd behind them, Austria's women's handball team are ready to tackle the European Championships starting on Thursday in Innsbruck. The first European Championship in 16 years is also the finals premiere of new team boss Monique Tijsterman, and the clear goal is to advance to the main round. However, the favorites for the final in the Wiener Stadthalle are others: Austria will face defending champions Norway in the preliminary round, and world champions France and Denmark are also among them.

For the first time, 24 teams will be competing in the women's event. In addition to Innsbruck, games will be played from November 28 to December 15 in Basel in Switzerland (preliminary round) and Debrecen in Hungary (preliminary round and main round), while Vienna is scheduled to host the main round and the final games. The move from Innsbruck to the capital is synonymous with the red-white-red mission. The first match will be against Slovakia, followed by the duels with Norway (November 30) and Slovenia (December 2).

The math is simple: Norway are virtually unbeatable in Group E, and a so-called must-win is due against Slovakia. The last appearance in the Olympia World in Innsbruck against Slovenia is therefore likely to be a key game in the battle for second place. "Theoretically, Slovenia have a strong team, but our team has the experience of two World Cups, some of the Champions League and European League," said Tijsterman. "We are strong, we just have to believe in ourselves. Then we will beat Slovenia."

A breath of fresh air in the team
Tijsterman took over from Herbert Müller in February after 20 years, so the wind is correspondingly fresh. The 55-year-old Dutchwoman is regarded as a good communicator and structured worker, has prescribed a faster, more aggressive style for her team, instilled new self-confidence and significantly broadened the squad. "We now have two to three players in every position," said pivot Josefine Hanfland. "That can become a strength at the European Championship, so that we can win the close games."

Like most of her teammates, Thüringer HC international Hanfland is working abroad (Germany, Hungary, Croatia, Switzerland). As many as seven of the 18 players are employed in their home country, all but one with Hypo Niederösterreich. The former Champions League top club may only be a small number internationally, but it is still the measure of all things in Austria. The ÖHB team is led by 37-year-old goalkeeper Petra Blazek, who has been on board for 20 years. Other veterans are Sonja Frey (31), Stefanie Kaiser (32), Mirela Dedic (32) and Patricia Kovacs (28). The powerful Katarina Pandza (23) is representative of the young guard.

In line with the trend of recent years, the final round is a transnational affair. It was not planned that the final would take place in Vienna. The ÖHB, which has a lot of experience from the 2010 and 2020 European Men's Championships, seized the opportunity after the surprising withdrawal of Hungary - not least thanks to active support from the public sector. It remains to be seen whether it will be enough to reach sporting heights. Austria finished 15th at the last European Championship to date in 2008, while the two most recent World Championships ended in 16th (2021) and 19th (2023).