Switzerland play four-nation tournament in Cheb
Switzerland play four-nation tournament in Cheb
A four-nation tournament in the Czech city of Cheb marks the start for the Swiss women's national team's preparations for their EHF EURO 2014 qualification matches in October this year.
The new head coach Jesper Holmris, coach of the British women's national team at the London 2012 Olympic Games, started his office on 1 March and nominated 15 players for his first challenge in which Switzerland will face the hosts, Czech Republic, as well as Austria and Tunisia.
"This tournament is a fantastic opportunity to face some strong opponents. First of all I want to get to know our players even better.
"The final results are not the most important thing," the 42-year-old Dane was quoted on the Swiss handball federation's website.
"Far more important is the experience we are going to gain together."
Switzerland currently hold a negative head-to-head record against Austria (four wins, one draw, 15 losses). The statistics for Swiss matches against the Czech Republic show one win each and one draw, while Tunisia and Switzerland have never met before.
Another premiere is the appearance of sisters Rahel, Noëlle, and Lisa Frey in the Swiss roster as it is the first time that the three siblings have been nominated together.
"So far I got a great impression of all the players. There is a lot of talent and the simple goal for the future is to really work and improve on that," 
"I also want our game to be played more along the wings, meaning that we play the Scandinavian style of handball.
"In general all our movements have to become more dynamic and we have to be more efficient in attack."
Like Switzerland, the Austrian women's national team will also use the tournament in Cheb to start its preparations for the EHF EURO 2014 qualification matches later in the year.
Head coach Herbert Müller has nominated 15 players for a six-day training camp that started on Monday, 18 March, and will conclude with the tournament from Thursday, 21 March, onwards.
It is Müller's aim to give his young team as much match experience as possible and also work on the team's attack as well as its defence game.
