SUMMARY: Slovenia please home crowd; Norway, Sweden, Hungary also win
The Women's EHF EURO 2022 in Slovenia, North Macedonia and Montenegro has thrown off Friday with four matches in group A and B, featuring defending champions Norway and co-hosts Slovenia.
22:04 RESULT | SWEDEN VS SERBIA 27:21 (14:9)
Never in doubt after their five-goal half-time lead, Sweden take the points that many expected them to take against Serbia. Nathalie Hagman scores nine.
22:01 RESULT | NORWAY VS CROATIA 32:23 (16:14)
In the beginning, Norway have their troubles with Croatia. In the end, Norway are just too strong for Croatia. Good start for the defending champions against a potentially tricky opponent.
Nora Mørk scores eight, Henny Reistad seven - and she is awarded the Player of the Match honours.
21:57
Double digits here in Ljubljana: Norway have gone 32:22 up, Croatia have lost this battle - but only in the last 20 minutes.
21:54
She has hit only two out of seven attempts so far, but when Jamina Roberts' shots go in, they look like this:
21:43
Meanwhile in the group B game, Sweden have further increased their lead over Serbia, despite scenes like these...:
21:40
You feel this game is now slipping away from Croatia a bit. The gap has grown to five (26:21) with only 15 minutes on the clock. Can't see Norway giving this away now, especially with such a back line:
21:24
Croatia have quickly leveled the score against Norway after the break (17:17) but find themselves three behind again at the moment: 21:18. Head coach Nenad Sostaric taking a team timeout. Can they stay in touch with the mighty Norwegians?
This victory is very important for us. Switzerland made a good job and we had to fight for the win. In the first half, we made too many mistakes and let them score some easy goals. In the second part, we netted more easily, and took an advantage of their empty goal.
19:35 RESULT | DENMARK VS SLOVENIA 26:28 (15:14)
Well done Slovenia, who do it again: upsetting a favourised opponent in their opening match of a major event. Fans in France and Netherlands know what we are talking about. Ana Gros living up to her billing as the big leader of this team, with eight goals and the Player of the Match award.
19:31 RESULT | HUNGARY VS SWITZERLAND 33:28 (12:14)
Congrats to Hungary, the first team to earn two points at the Women's EHF EURO 2022! The recover from a disappointing first half to beat debutants Switzerland by five goals. Katrin Klujber stepped up when needed most and was named Player of the Match. Still, well done to Switzerland, who were in the running for at least one point until the closing minutes.
19:23
Meanwhile, Denmark vs Slovenia going down to the wire in Celje. What a game for the home fans!
19:20
Have Hungary turned this around? Just over eight minutes left and they lead Switzerland for the first time this match by more than one goal: 27:24. Katrin Klujber their best scorer with seven goals - however, from 12 attempts...
19:12
Jump once. Jump twice. Score!
19:07
All square over in Celje, as well, where Denmark and Slovenia are currently at 20:20. Leading scorer? Ana Gros, of course, with seven goals so far.
19:02
Hungary seem determined to hit back in the second half. They have stabilised their defence a bit and have quickly leveled the score against Switzerland (18:18 at the moment). Interesting to see which way this match goes from here.
We do not have a big bench, we do not have many experienced players, but with our fans behind us, maybe we can pop up some surprises.
It is my eighth EHF EURO and I will always enjoy playing in this type of tournaments. Our team is very young, many players changed, but we want to do well and start the competition with a win against the Netherlands.
14:14
If you have not used the Match Predicter on the Home of Handball app yet, you better do so now before the first matches throw off in a couple of hours.
Need inspiration? We asked three stars of the game from outside Europe to give us their predictions. Find out what Eduarda Amorim, Elga Elghaoui and Ryu Eun Hee expect from the Women's EHF EURO 2022.
10:47
Just over seven hours now before the first matches start here in Slovenia: in group A in Ljubljana and group B in Celje. Play in groups C and D in North Macedonia and Montenegro gets underway on Saturday.
Fans across the continent are eager to watch their heroes throw off their EHF EURO campaign. So, where can they watch the games? Below is the full broadcast schedule in 80 countries and, of course, EHFTV is streaming all EHF EURO matches live worldwide – though geo-restrictions apply.
Also, beIN will be available in the United States and Canada, along with other open territories: Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, and New Zealand.
10:30
We have all been counting down the months. Then the days. Now we only count down the hours: the Women's EHF EURO 2022 finally starts today!
Welcome back to the live blog, where we will guide you through all that is happening in Ljubljana and Celje, were the 15th edition of the European Championship throws off tonight. Here is the schedule:
