No points for away teams in Round 1

• Kristina Jörgensen spearheaded Denmark's attack which scored 44 goals against Kosovo and the playmaker scored seven goals, while having a perfect shot ratio
• Danish goalkeeper, Anna Opstrup Kristensen had more saves (8) than Kosovo had goals scored (7) in the first half
• Sarah Wachter's nine saves and high shot efficiency of 42.11 were crucial in Germany's opening win 
• Ukraine held a five-goal lead at one point in the first half against Ukraine, but Germany still won after successfully mounting a comeback
• In the Highlight match, Kelly Dulfer backed up the confident stance ahead of the start of the qualifiers with a quality performance on the court as the left back scored five goals in the Netherlands' win against Portugal
• Sweden's line player, Linn Blohm displayed a faultless attacking performance and scored eight goals while having a perfect shot efficiency

GROUP 2

Germany vs Ukraine 31:24 (15:14)

The inspired Ukrainian side caught the hosts off guard at the start of the match and completely surprised the opponent by taking a five-goal lead in the 13^th minute, led by the support in the stands as around 500 refugees who received free tickets came to support their national team in Wetzlar. However, Germany instantly mounted a comeback and they took over the lead in the 24^th minute and kept it until the break. The visitor's centre back, Tamara Smbatian displayed a very good performance in the opening half by scoring five goals and she had only one missed shot. Despite the Ukraine's wishes to restore their lead in the second half, Germany did not allow that and took their highest, five-goal lead in the 47^th minute through Xenia Smits. The hosts improved their defence as well as attack in the final minutes and unlocked their full potential to celebrate two points.

Markus Gaugisch, coach Germany: "It was like when a club has its first match after a long summer break. We have not met for six months, so you always need some time to adapt. But I was really happy that we remained patient, when we were down by five goals. We managed to turn around this decficit and in the second half we showed the right reaction. 

Vitalyi Andronov, coach Ukraine: "We are satisfied, mainly with the first half. Germany are a top team and they have a lot of strength and power. In the second half, we lacked this strength. But overall, we showed a good performance and we are optimistic for the next match." 

Emily Bölk, team captain Germany: "We started quite weak, but finally we won by seven, this it what counts. In the beginning, we conceded too many goals and caused too many mistakes in attack. But we fought back into the match, when we were down by five. The victory is the most important for today., two third of the match we played well." 

GROUP 3

Highlight Match: Netherlands vs Portugal 38:27 (20:14)

The motivated Dutch team started the match in Almere by gaining an early four-goal lead in the 12th minute although the visitors quickly narrowed the difference and nine minutes before the break only a single goal separated the sides. However, the hosts brushed aside Portugal's attempts to keep the score close and took a six-goal lead at the break. The pacey Netherlands' right wing, Angela Malestein led the show with seven goals and three of them coming just before the half-time. The sixth placed national team from the Women's EHF EURO 2022 remained superior and six minutes into the second half their lead extended to 10 which signaled the end for Portugal's hopes. Finally, the Netherlands celebrated a deserved win and two points despite being without one of their key players in Estavana Polman.

Per Johansson, the Netherlands coach: "Portugal tried to shoot from distance, we tried to fix this. Then they start to play like many south European teams do with breakthroughs, then we fixed this. We got to take the lead but then the same thing was in the second half and we lose our flow and activity. At that moment they showed that Portugal are a good team. So there were some points I am happy with but we will talk about the roller-coaster." 

Yara Ten Holte, the Netherlands goalkeeper: "We did a really good job. In our defence sometimes there were too many too easy goals and that they played sometimes really long attacks and we need to concentrate and avoid those easy goals."

Jose Silva, Portugal coach: "We knew from the beginning that this is a very difficult match for us. We tried to increase our level, but we cannot play with this intensity and this rhythm all the time yet."

Patricia Lima, Portugal centre back: "We have a very young team, but we need some experience at this level because obviously they are the world champions of 2019. So a little bit experience and a little bit of luck, but we are getting the fight a lot so in the future we can do things."

GROUP 7

Sweden vs Faroe Islands 37:20 (19:13)

The hosts began the match by taking a three-goal lead in the opening six minutes and the difference between the sides only kept growing until it reached six at the break. The Faroe Islands tried to come close on several occasions, but ultimately, Sweden's high shot efficiency of 76 percent in the first half led by the perfect, Linn Blohm denied the visitors' attempts. The fifth ranked team from the Women's EHF EURO 2022 continued to fill the Faroese net with ease as Sweden's attacking output remained on a high. The hosts celebrated a comfortable win as well as opened the qualifiers with two points in the end. Sweden can be very happy with their defensive shift in the second half after allowing only seven goals until the final whistle.

GROUP 8

Denmark vs Kosovo 44:17 (21:7)

The silver medallist from the Women's EHF EURO 2022 started the match on the front foot and it didn't take them long to quickly establish a seven-goal lead. Afterwards, it was a one way street for the visitors as Denmark cruised at the break with a huge lead. The talented left wing, Emma Friis scored six goals in the opening 30 minutes for the efficient hosts, while Kosovo was unable to keep with the ultra-fast tempo of play. Denmark's lead only kept growing in the second half, while the visitors' attack was too predictable with Leonora Demaj taking the responsibility to finish most of their actions, but unfortunately, she scored only five goals from 18 attempts. In the end, Kosovo still succeeded to improve on their first half's attacking display and scored 17 goals overall, but the hosts celebrated a massive win and two points to open group 8.

Kristina Jörgensen, Denmark left back: "It was a very good match today where everyone did very well. We needed to find our rhythm in the beginning, but our defence worked very well, and we could make a lot of fast breaks. We’re also just so happy that so many fans showed up and created a great atmosphere. 

Jesper Jensen, Denmark head coach: "We are very happy about the result. This was our first match in the EURO qualification and now we have the first two points which is very important for us as we have our eyes set on qualifying for the EURO."

Leonora Demaj, Kosovo left back: "We got off to a good start, but because we don’t have that many players to change between, we run out of power. It’s hard for us to win our duels in the attack, but it’s all about learning and progress for us. We didn’t expect to win this match, so for us it was more about our effort and to succeed with some of the few things we have had time to practice with such a new team."

Agron Shabani, Kosovo head coach: "It’s very difficult to play against such a world class team like Denmark. We didn’t really find our rhythm in the game, so it was very tough for us, and we made too many mistakes. It just wasn’t our day today and we hope to do better in Kosovo on Saturday."

Photo: HandbalNL, Marco Wolf (DHB), Lars Møller (Denmark), Swedish Handball Federation