Three teams, two tickets: Group D gets thrilling finish

Poland vs Montenegro
Wednesday 9 November, 18:00 CET, live on EHFTV

• Montenegro are already qualified for the main round after their two victories against Spain and Germany
• if Poland get at least a point, they are qualified two – though under circumstances they might even qualify following a defeat
• Montenegro won eight of nine official matches against Poland, but lost the last encounter – in the main round of the 2021 World Championship: 33:28
• if the hosts win, it is their 25th victory at EHF EURO final tournaments; Milena Rajcevic’s first goal will be her 125th at EHF EURO tournaments
• Poland sensationally turned a 16:20 deficit against Spain into a 22:21 victory on Monday to take their first EHF EURO victory since 2014, and 13 matches
• Polish centre back Kinga Achruk played for Montenegrin top club Buducnost Podgorica before – and won the EHF Champions League with them
• with 14 goals, Montenegrin left back Djurdjina Jaukovic is third best scorer of the EHF EURO so far; Monika Kobylinska has scored eight goals for Poland

Poland coach Arne Senstad: “We are happy to be in this situation that we still can fight for the main round. Yesterday’s match was a challenge for us. My players are not used to have such intense matches every two days. This is the best motivation you can get, playing in such circumstances. This is, everybody – including me – was dreaming of.”

Montenegro centre back Matea Pletikosic: “We have a great support from our fans, and in Podgorica we have the best atmosphere of all four EHF EURO venues by now. We are very happy with those two wins and the fact that we are already in the main round.”

Spain vs Germany
Wednesday 9 November, 20:30 CET, live on EHFTV

• Spain have lost both matches against Montenegro and Poland – and therefore need to beat Germany to qualify for the main round; Germany are through with at least a draw
• The head-to-head comparison is balanced, with four victories each and one draw; most recently, Spain beat Germany on home ground in the 2021 World Championship quarter-final: 26:21.
• after Spanish goalkeeper Silvia Navarro was ruled due to a knee injury, her successor Mercedes Castellanos suffered a hamstring injury against Poland
• Spanish line player Kaba Gassama plays for German club SG BBM Bietigheim, so German national team coach Markus Gaugisch is her coach on club level, and four SG players are in the German squad
• the two German team captains Alina Grijseels (13 goals) and Emily Bölk (13) are among the top 4 of the current scorer list; Spanish left back Alexandrina Barbosa is on 12 and her next goal will be her 75th EHF EURO events.

Spain coach Jose Ignacio Prades: “We must fight until the end of the championship. We have another chance, and our team will be better than against Poland, hopefully.”

Germany coach Markus Gaugisch: “This match is like a cup match: the winner takes it all. Spain beat us last year in the (World Championship) quarter-final, now I hope it is our time. We remain on the same way we played before – and especially we have to focus on their physical strong line players and their challenging defence system.”