Summary: 2022 silver medallists Spain out as Austrians draw

• groups A, B and C close with some critical clashes
• North Macedonia snatch 29:27 win vs Switzerland, Croatia defeat Romania 31:25, Montenegro claim 30:29 win against Serbia
• France beat Germany 33:30, Spain's 33:33 draw with Austria sends them home, Hungary defeat Iceland 33:25
• watch the EHF EURO live show, presented by Trivago, on Twitch from 17:30 CET
• download the Home of Handball app to make your match predictions and vote for Player of the Match (45 minutes into each game)
• follow the EHF EURO social media channels: X, Facebook and Instagram
• find out how to follow the tournament
• all photographs © Kolektiff Images

22:50

We close today's blog with the highlights of the match between Spain and Austria - and we'll be back tomorrow, in transit to Cologne, for the build-up to the first day of main round action!

22:30

Wow - what a preliminary round we've had and what an ending. The last group phase match reviews are out.

22:10 | FULL-TIME

France 33:30 Germany

France bounce back from the draw with Switzerland to beat Germany 33:30 in a lively match. Nikola Karabatic showed up for the first time this tournament, scoring four times and adding two assists, and making a big step towards matching or exceeding Gudjon Valur Sigurdsson as all-time Men's EHF EURO top scorer. He's voted as Player of the Match.

But Andy Wolff continues to shine for Germany, as does Juri Knorr - the latter scoring eight goals and making five assists tonight.

Spain 33:33 Austria

Spain had possession with four seconds on the clock and the score level. Jordi Ribera's timeout was not enough to give them the victory, as Imanol Garciandia misses a 9m effort. 

Austria celebrate - they go through to the main round and Spain crash out at the end of the preliminary round for the first time in their history. The 2022 silver medallists will not make the podium for a 10th time, at least not this year.

Tobias Wagner is Player of the Match, with five goals for Austria; Nikola Bilyk scored eight, as did Aleix Gómez for Spain.

Iceland 25:33 Hungary

Iceland never really got into the game and, bolstered by an immense performance (11 saves, 33 per cent) from Grundfos Player of the Match Kristóf Palasics, Hungary take maximum points to the main round. Zoltan Szita is top scorer for Hungary, with five goals; Viggó Kristjánsson scored eight (including four penalties) for Iceland.

21:58

Spain are level! 31:31, three minutes to play ...

21:55

With five minutes to play, it looks like Austria are going to the main round and that France will take two points to Cologne. Both sides lead by two goals.

Hungary will also have maximum points as they dominate Iceland.

21:49

Adrian Figueras has hurt his shoulder, but it's only a brief break before he's back on court. With 10 minutes to play, Austria lead 28:27. What has Jordi Ribera got in his tactics book?

21:45

Another injury for Spain - their third this tournament - as Agustín Casado is helped off court limping. Austria lead 27:26.

21:43

Ales Pajovic has moved into seven-on-six attack to keep Austria in this, and they are. A draw is good enough to take them to Cologne - it's not enough for Spain. 

Germany level things up at 25:25 with a Juri Knorr penalty.

For the last time in the preliminary round, vote for your Player of the Match now!

21:38

Kentin Mahé is now taking the French penalties, and he tips in a slow lob that fools David Späth and keeps France ahead. Germany are on the fight-back, though, and keep closing up to a single goal again.

In Mannheim, Spain and Austria are level - or Spain lead by one, depending on when you look at the score - and Gonzalo Perez de Vargas is making some saves. Austria are far from out of the game.

Iceland are struggling to contend with Hungary's defence and an imperious Kristóf Palacsics - Hungary lead 24:18 in the widest game so far in group C. 

21:32

For the first time in the match, Spain led at 19:18, thanks to a goal from Daniel Dujshebaev which was soon answered by Lukas Herburger. But is the momentum turning? Jordi Ribera has a deeper bench and is rotating much more than Austria, and this might be key. 

21:27

That's not the start Germany wanted to the second-half - two goals for France give them a four-goal lead. 

Hungary have done the same.

21:21

125 kilometres an hour from Elohim Prandi from 9.76m out - what a shot.

We're underway again in about two minutes!

21:15

Austria hold the cards in the race for the last main round ticket, and here's what EHF journalist Adrian Costeiu has to say about that.

21:12 | HALF-TIME

France 17:15 Germany

Germany are definitely playing with an extra player; the crowd of more than 13,500 people in Berlin is deafening. And there's nothing to separate the two teams. This is a better French side than showed up against the Faroe Islands, but they're facing a very good German team who are defending for their lives and are backed up by two exceptional goalkeepers. A 3:0 run gave France a two-goal lead at the break, but if Germany can keep this up they have a good shot at taking the two points to Cologne.

Spain 15:17 Austria

Spain have lost Alex Dujshebaev, a key player, to a direct red card after hitting Lukas Hutecek in the face with his palm. The record medal-winners continue to battle, but it's going to be a challenge with Austria playing fast and freely and Gonzalo Perez de Vargas struggling to save. Once again, Nikola Bilyk and Robert Weber are the cornerstones of the Austrian attack.

Iceland 13:15 Hungary

In the battle for top spot in group C, Hungary shrugged off the red card to Bence Bánhidi and hung on to their lead. Kristóf Palasics in goal is helping, with eight saves (40 per cent), making the Icelanders' job extra hard. So even though Hungary have had two more turnovers, and have conceded five penalties (three scored), they go into the break up. 

20:59

David Späth has the measure of Hugo Descat. The young Rhein-Neckar Löwen keeper is taking penalties and he's stopped Descat twice. This shot-stopping is keeping Germany up with France, who have made more attempts on goal so far.

20:55

After a poor start in goal, Iceland's Viktor Hallgrímsson has been replaced by Björgvin Pall Gustvasson. The Icelanders are playing catch-up; Hungary led 10:7 a short time ago, but it's now 9:10.

Austria still lead Spain by two or three goals and, as against Croatia, Gonzalo Perez de Vargas isn't having a stunning day. The consolation for Spain is that neither is Constantin Möstl for Austria. 

It's 12:12 between France and Germany.

20:49

A big blow to Hungary as Bence Bánhidi receives a direct red card for a face-hit to Gisli Kristjansson. That's a cornerstone of the Hungarian defence gone. That said, they lead Iceland 7:6. 

Austria still lead Spain, who keep coming back to within a goal. Germany and France are in a similar position (currently 12:11 to Germany).

20:45

Like Andy Schmid earlier, Nikola Karabatic is playing his last EHF EURO. He's not had a huge role for France yet, but he's been on since the start of the game and just scored his first goal here, into an empty German net, and then follows up with another. These are actually only his second and third goals of the tournament - he needs another six to level with Gudjon Valur Sigurdsson as the all-time Men's EHF EURO top scorer (288 goals).

France are now on pace with Germany after the incredible German start.

20:42

Spain are playing with only one right wing - Aleix Gómez. Despite bringing in Ferran Solé as a replacement for Kauldi Odriozola, Solé is not on tonight's squad. Gómez is already up to three goals, and if he keeps scoring, is in with a good chance of ending the preliminary round as the top scorer - he needs to add another six to take the lead.

20:35

Andy Wolff. There's something about playing for Germany that seems to inspire him. We're six minutes in and he's made three saves already, giving Germany a 4:1 lead.

Austria lead the slow-starting Spain 3:2, and it's level in Munich.

20:30

Sixty minutes of preliminary round action remaining!

You can follow France vs Germany with live audio description, in German, on our website.

20:23

In Berlin, Yanis Lenne appears for the first time; Charles Bolzinger, Timothey N'Guessan and Benoit Kounkoud are not on the French squad tonight. Nils Lichtlein, Lukas Zerbe and Tim Nothdurff do not appear for Germany.

Here's all the squads and the match tickers:

• France vs Germany
• Spain vs Austria
• Iceland vs Hungary

20:10

Only three preliminary round games remain, and keep a particularly close eye on Spain vs Austria. Spain are very close to missing the main round - if they don't win, they're out, for the first time since the current format was introduced 22 years ago. They have an experienced team, but Austria have been playing well. It's surely going to be another thriller.

19:58

There is one main round group I place left now - it'll go to Austria or Spain. France and Iceland are guaranteed progression, and play Germany and Hungary respectively for top spot in groups A and C. 

To find out more about what the first set of results mean, check out the match reviews.

19:38 | FULL-TIME

Croatia 31:25 Romania

Croatia book their place in the main round with their second win, ultimately cruising against Romania. Luka Lovre Klarica is Grundfos Player of the Match, the youngster scoring seven goals and showing he belongs on the big stage. 

Serbia 29:30 Montenegro

Group C has delivered thrills and spills once more. Serbia needed a win to keep their hopes alive, and going into the last minute, the game was level at 28:28. Toni Gerona called his last timeout, but Serbia's shot was blocked and Vuko Borozan scored his sixth goal to give Montenegro a 29:28 lead, 34 seconds remaining. 

Montenegro then concede a penalty, and Nikola Matovic cannot stop it. With the score at 29:29 and 10 seconds to play, it's a timeout for Vlado Sola. And Nemanja Grbovic scores a buzzer-beater to win it for a delighted Montenegro!

Iceland will go to the main round, whatever the result of the last match in Munich.

19:27 | FULL-TIME

North Macedonia 29:27 Switzerland

It looked very much as though North Macedonia had done enough to win, but Switzerland pulled themselves together, found more connection, and got themselves right back into the game. They even led a couple of times in the last 10 minutes. But a turnover in the 58th minute gave Tomislav Jagurinovski the chance for a fast break, and that put the Macedonians ahead. Martin Tomovski then made a key save. 

Kiril Lazarov's timeout with 30 seconds on the clock was enough to steady his team's nerves and Marko Mitev put away with the winner. North Macedonia go home with a win, Switzerland's main round dreams are definitively over, and Andy Schmid's Swiss career ends in defeat and the Grundfos Player of the Match award.

19:21

12 goals for Andy Schmid on possibly his last international game for Switzerland, an insane performance. They're all field goals, too. Still level with two minutes to play ...

19:18

Switzerland have levelled the game in Berlin. 

Montenegro are clinging on to the lead and Nikola Matovic is saving and saving.

19:13

Switzerland are on the charge! They've got themselves right back into the game and it's 23:22 to North Macedonia, with Nikola Portner finding his form again. There's still 10 minutes to play, plenty of time for either side to win. 

19:10

Open up your Home of Handball apps and vote for your Players of the Match! (You'll have to wait a couple of minutes for group B, as they're not quite at the 45-minute mark yet).

19:08

An update from Mannheim, where Croatia have decided they want to win and have taken a 21:15 lead. Dominik Kuzmanovic, a late call-up to the squad, is playing really well with four saves (36 per cent). 

19:06

Not a moment without a bit of drama in Munich, as Milos Orbovic jumps to shoot and lands clutching his thigh. He's helped off by players from both teams. Montenegro lead 20:18 with replacement goalkeeper Nikola Matovic just picking up where Nebojsa Simic left off.

19:02

Dragan Pechmalbec vs the Montenegrin goalkeepers, part 2: Pechmalbec shoots and hits Nikola Matovic in the face. From the stands, Nebojsa Simic raises his arms in frustration. It's just a two-minute suspension for Pechmalbec, and things remian all square at 18:18.

Switzerland are fighting back against the Macedonians and it's 19:16 to the latter. Meanwhile, Croatia lead Romania 19:14 after another quick start to the half.

18:58

North Macedonia look really confident now, scoring easily - Filip Taleski just netted a glorious in-flight goal.

In Munich, there's utter disaster for Montenegro. Nebojsa Simic came right out of his area and cannoned into Dragan Pechmalbec. It goes to video replay and Simic is handed a red card. Is this the end of Montenegro's hopes of a win?

18:50

Right, can any of the teams still in the main round race seal the deal? Switzerland's chances look extremely slim.

18:41

EHF journalist Courtney Gahan has been watching group C throughout, and she's paying close attention to this crucial match. Here's what she thought of the first half.

18:39 | HALF-TIME

North Macedonia 13:9 Switzerland

Switzerland have not had the half they needed. The Macedonians are really stepping up for this last game, and in defence are just stopping Switzerland from getting the shots away.

Martin Tomovski has made seven saves (44 per cent); Nikola Portner, after an amazing start, is on six saves (33 per cent). Andy Schmid is the top scorer with four goals.

Croatia 16:12 Romania

Romania are going home after this game, but they're not going home without a fight. Croatia are being pressured all the way, and only managed to hold a narrow lead through most of the half after they started so quickly. However, they take a four-goal lead into the break after a 4:1 run in the last four minutes of the half - despite being a man down for half of that time after a Zvonimir Srna suspension.

Luka Lovre Klarica is having a good day though, with six goals. 

Serbia 14:15 Montenegro

Is group C close again? Of course it is! Serbia have gradually fought their way back into the match, which they need to win, and it is finely poised at the break. 

Branko Vujovic has now passed the 50 EHF EURO goal mark, while Nemanja Grbovic has passed 60 EHF EURO goals. 

18:30

North Macedonia took a 10:5 lead, which Switzerland managed to cut to 10:8, but now they're off again with better attacking and fewer mistakes.

Montenegro and Croatia still lead Serbia and Romania respectively by two goals.

18:21

We're witnessing some excellent goalkeeping in Berlin, with Martin Tomovski stepping up in Nikola Mitrevski's absence. The Macedonians lead 7:5 and Martin Suter takes his first timeout.

18:17

Already, the group A game has shades of last night's match between the Faroes and Poland - one side needing a huge win to progress, the other wanting their first victory before going home. North Macedonia's defence is strong while Switzerland are playing seven-on-six in attack. They go up 5:4.

Toni Gerona calls a timeout in Munich as Serbia trail 5:9 - not what the Serbs need here to progress. 

Over in Mannheim, Luka Lovre Klarica is having to step up due to the injury of Ivan Martinovic, but the 22-year-old right back is doing so in style with three goals already. Croatia lead 7:5.

18:12

Montenegro lead, and this man is why:

18:10

In Mannheim, Croatia started well but Romania have gathered themselves and stopped the Croatians running away early. It's now 4:3.

Montenegro lead Serbia 5:3 after 10 minutes, while it's level at 3:3 in Berlin.

18:05

If this is going to be Andy Schmid's last game, he's going out strong, scoring Switzerland's first goal. 

In Munich, group C has been low-scoring throughout and if Dejan Milosavljev and Nebojsa Simic have anything to do with it, tonight will be low-scoring too. Both keepers start strong, with Simic saving a penalty throw early on. Now Montenegro are on the run, leading 3:0 at this early stage.

18:00

For the penultimate time from Berlin, Mannheim and Munich: throw-off!

17:50

Throw-off is approaching in this last preliminary round day, which might be Swiss legend Andy Schmid's final international match if Switzerland do not progress to the main round. 

Follow all the action on the live tickers:

• North Macedonia vs Switzerland
• Croatia vs Romania
• Serbia vs Montenegro

17:40

North Macedonia will play today without their captain and top goalkeeper, Nikola Mitrevski. The 38-year-old had an MRI scan which discovered thigh and quad injuries. Expect Martin Tomovski to take on the bulk of the goalkeeping duties with 22-year-old Marko Kizikj on standby.

The Macedonians have also thanked their fans, who always make themselves heard in the arenas.

17:30

Head over to our Twitch channel now and join Spanish star Víctor Tomàs, Danish beach handball legend Martin Vilstrup and sports journalist Bengt Kunkel as they watch today's games - they'll be keeping an eye on all the action, and who better to provide analysis of the last preliminary round day?

17:15

You can always rely on the Icelandic fans to show up in vast numbers - they've been hanging out in the Hofbräuhaus in Munich before the games. They'll need to be in good voice tonight. Iceland will know before the game what they need to do to qualify: if Serbia lose to Montenegro, they're already through to the main round. If Serbia win, Iceland need a win or draw, or to lose to Hungary by a sufficiently narrow margin that they have a better goal difference than the Serbs. Got that? 

17:05

Less than an hour until throw-off! We're reporting from Berlin for the last time, and the crowd is starting to gather - mainly German and Swiss fans right now, but undoubtedly the French and Macedonians will rock up in a bit. 

North Macedonia are starting to warm up with a few footy exercises.

16:45

Ferran Solé has arrived in Mannheim to reinforce the Spanish team after Kauldi Odriozola's injury - an experienced head to add to the squad, but will it help them beat Austria tonight? Spain progress if they win, it's that simple.

16:25

Montenegro will bow out of the competition this evening after a couple of close losses put them out of main round contention. We're sure they'll go out with heads held high.

15:50

Serbia play Montenegro later on with a place in the main round at stake - they need a win, and a better goal difference than Iceland. 

Yesterday they had a visit from Serbian basketball player Vladimir Lučić, who was presented with a handball jersey. Always good to see the connection between sportsmen in different sports!

15:30

Switzerland have never beaten North Macedonia. The last time they met was in the EHF EURO 2022 Qualifiers, when the Macedonians won 25:23 and 29:28. This match is important for both sides - for the Macedonians to go home with a win, and for Switzerland to do what they can to reach the main round. Whether they can pull off a miracle remains to be seen. Here's some thoughts from the team (in German) ahead of the match.

15:00

After their shock draw with Switzerland, France's progression to the main round is not assured - although it's likely, as they have a +23 goal difference compared to Switzerland. However, should Switzerland manage to win against North Macedonia by a lot, and France lose to Germany by a lot, it's not inconceivable that the Olympic champions crash out.

Here's some snaps from their training session ahead of tonight.

14:30

More team news, from Croatia: Dominik Kuzmanovic is replacing Kristian Pilipovic. Pilipovic has not played so far, with Matej Mandic and Filip Ivic doing duty in the first two matches for Croatia, so we'll see if Kuzmanovic takes the court today or in the main round, if Croatia make it.

14:12

Team news from Germany: Kai Häfner is back in Berlin after becoming a father for the second time on Friday!

13:15

Hungary's success at the EHF EURO 2024 so far has been driven largely by their line player Bence Bánhidi, who coach Chema Rodriguez thinks is the best player in the world in this position. EHF journalist Courtney Gahan has talked to Bánhidi, Rodriguez, Hungarian centre back Máté Lékai, and Iceland's Ómar Ingi Magnusson, about Bánhidi's importance for the team ahead of their final preliminary round game against Iceland.

12:45

Every day has something planned for the players at the EHF EURO. For Croatia yesterday it was training at the arena, before tonight's match with Romania. A win or draw will see them progress to the main round.

12:20

Did you know that Germany's game tonight against France is their 100th EHF EURO match? And that they also played the first-ever EHF EURO match back in 1994?

EHF journalist Kevin Domas has picked out some of the highlights - and lowlights - of their 30-year history in the tournament.

11:55

One of the most-anticipated matches of today is Germany's clash with France in Berlin. Julian Rux has picked out an interesting statistic, which shows how defence may be key - Germany have blocked 7 per cent of their opponents' field attempts so far.

11:30

There are still four main round group I spots up for the taking this evening, so we've done the calculations to work out what needs to happen for each team to grab them. Germany and Hungary are the only teams sure they are on the way to Cologne.

10:50

The goalkeeping this tournament has been insane and yesterday's shot-stoppers really came up with the goods when it matters. We'll be sorry to see the likes of Georgia's Zurab Tsintsadze leave the tournament.

10:25

We don't know about you, but we're not sure we're recovered yet from the excitement of last night: some amazingly close matches, and history made for Georgia. These feature in the top five goals of the day, the last from preliminary round groups D, E and F and the last we'll see of some of these star players for this tournament.

10:00

Welcome to the final day of the preliminary round of the Men's EHF EURO 2024! The past week has absolutely flown by and after tonight we'll be more than halfway through the tournament in terms of matches - although the good news is there's still a week and a half of the tournament to go.

This evening the teams progressing to the main round in groups A, B and C will be confirmed, to join Germany and Hungary in the main round in Cologne. Read the day preview to find out more.