2008 European Women's Handball Championship

2008 EHF European Women's
Handball Championship

Европско првенство во ракомет за жени 2008 (Macedonian)
Tournament details
Host country	REDIRECT Template:Country data North Macedonia
Dates	2 December–14 December
Teams	16 (from 1 confederation)
Venue(s)	2 (in 2 host cities)
Final positions
Champions	Norway (4th title)
Runner-up	Spain
Third place	Russia
Fourth place	Germany
Tournament statistics
Matches	47
Goals scored	2500 (53.19 per match)
Attendance	81,500 (1,734 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Linn-Kristin Riegelhuth (NOR) (51 goals)
Best player	Kristine Lunde (NOR)
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The 2008 EHF European Women's Handball Championship was held in the Republic of Macedonia from 2–14 December, it was won by Norway after beating Spain 34–21 in the final match.

Venues

Two Macedonian cities have been selected as hosts for the 2008 Championship:

Skopje	Skopje Ohrid Host cities	Ohrid
		220px
Boris Trajkovski Sports Arena Capacity: 10,000		Biljanini Izvori Sports Hall Capacity: 4,500

Competition Format

• Preliminary Round: 16 teams are divided into four groups. They play each other in a single round robin system, so each team plays three matches. A win is worth two points, while a draw is worth one point. The top three teams from each group advance to the Main Round.
• Main Round: 12 teams are divided in two groups. They play against the teams they didn't play in the Preliminary Round, so each team plays 3 matches. All points from the Preliminary Round, except the points gained against the 4th place team in the preliminary group, are carried forward into the Main Round. Same round robin rules apply as in the Preliminary Round. Top 2 teams from each group advance to the Semifinals, while the third placed team from each group advances to the 5th-6th Place Play-off.
• Final Round: 6 teams play in the final weekend of the championships. 3rd place teams from the Main Round play in the 5th-6th Place Play-off. Other teams play in the Semi finals. Losers of the Semi finals advance to the 3rd-4th Place Play-off, and winners advance to the Final.

Qualification

In total, 16 national teams qualified for the final tournament:

Host Nation

• Republic of Macedonia

Qualified from the 2006 European Championship

1. Norway (Defending Champions)
2. Russia
3. France
4. Germany
5. Hungary

Qualified from play-offs

Team 1	Result	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Slovakia	51 – 58	Ukraine	27–28	24–30
Italy	53 – 65	Austria	27–29	26–36
Spain	54 – 49	Lithuania	24–19	30–30
Poland	61 – 63	Portugal	37–28	24–35
Montenegro	63 – 66	Croatia	40–35	23–31
Iceland	46 – 70	Romania	23–37	23–33
Belarus	54 – 50	Slovenia	29–25	25–25
Sweden	54 – 44	Czech Republic	25–19	29–25
Turkey	44 – 45	Denmark	25–24	19-21
Netherlands	52 – 54	Serbia	24–23	28-31

Squads

Main article: 2008 European Women's Handball Championship squads

Each nation had to submit an initial squad of 28 players, 12 of them became reserves when the final squad of 16 players was announced on 1 December 2008.

Seeding

The draw for the preliminary round groups took place on 20 July 2008, in Ohrid

Pot 1	Pot 2	Pot 3	Pot 4
Norway	Hungary	Spain	Ukraine
Russia	Sweden	Austria	Serbia
France	Croatia	Denmark	Belarus
Germany	Portugal	Macedonia	Romania

Preliminary round

	Team advanced to the Main Round
	Team is eliminated from the tournament

Group A (Skopje)

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GDIF	Points
Romania	3	3	0	0	84	71	+13	6
Denmark	3	1	1	1	75	76	− 1	3
Hungary	3	1	1	1	76	79	− 3	3
France	3	0	0	3	74	83	− 9	0

All times are Central European Time (UTC+1)

3 December 18:15	Hungary	21 – 27	Romania	Boris Trajkovski Sports Arena Attendance: 1,000 Referees: Baranowski, Lemanowicz (POL)
	Görbicz 5	(Report)	Lecusanu, Manea, Neagu 5

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3 December 20:15	France	23 – 24	Denmark	Boris Trajkovski Sports Arena Attendance: 800 Referees: Lindroos, Leandersson (FIN)
	Spincer 6	(Report)	Aaen 7

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5 December 18:15	Romania	30 – 25	France	Boris Trajkovski Sports Arena Attendance: 700 Referees: Brunovsky, Canda (SVK)
	Ardean-Elisei 8	(Report)	Dembele, Limal 4

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5 December 20:15	Denmark	26 – 26	Hungary	Boris Trajkovski Sports Arena Attendance: 1,000 Referees: Marić, Mašić (SRB)
	Skov 6	(Report)	Görbicz 10

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7 December 18:15	France	26 – 29	Hungary	Boris Trajkovski Sports Arena Attendance: 600 Referees: Andersen, Sødal (NOR)
	Kamto N'jitam 7	(Report)	Görbicz 9

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7 December 20:15	Denmark	25 – 27	Romania	Boris Trajkovski Sports Arena Attendance: 1,000 Referees: Bol, van Eck (NED)
	Møller, Skov 5	(Report)	Lecusanu 9

Group B (Ohrid)

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GDIF	Points
Norway	3	2	1	0	88	60	+28	5
Spain	3	1	2	0	74	69	+ 5	4
Ukraine	3	1	1	1	82	81	+ 1	3
Portugal	3	0	0	3	67	101	−34	0

All times are Central European Time (UTC+1)

3 December 17:15	Portugal	24 – 38	Ukraine	Biljanini Izvori Sports Hall Attendance: 500 Referees: Nikolovski, Kolevski (MKD)
	Barbosa 9	(Report)	Nikolayenko 9

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3 December 19:15	Norway	21 – 21	Spain	Biljanini Izvori Sports Hall Attendance: 1,000 Referees: Marić, Mašić (SRB)
	Riegelhuth 5	(Report)	Mangué 6

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5 December 17:15	Spain	29 – 24	Portugal	Biljanini Izvori Sports Hall Attendance: 500 Referees: Leifsson, Pálsson (ISL)
	Pinedo, Mangué 7	(Report)	Barbosa 11

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5 December 19:15	Ukraine	20 – 33	Norway	Biljanini Izvori Sports Hall Attendance: 1,000 Referees: Bol, van Eck (NED)
	Pidpalova, Nikolayenko 5	(Report)	Larsen 7

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7 December 17:15	Spain	24 – 24	Ukraine	Biljanini Izvori Sports Hall Attendance: 1,000 Referees: Brunovsky, Canda (SVK)
	Beatriz 7	(Report)	Shymkute 8

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7 December 19:15	Norway	34 – 19	Portugal	Biljanini Izvori Sports Hall Attendance: 1,200 Referees: Lindroos, Leandersson (FIN)
	Riegelhuth 9	(Report)	Barbosa 6

Group C (Ohrid)

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GDIF	Points
Russia	3	2	1	0	79	66	+13	5
Sweden	3	1	2	0	64	50	+14	4
Belarus	3	1	1	1	77	71	+ 6	3
Austria	3	0	0	3	53	86	−33	0

All times are Central European Time (UTC+1)

2 December 18:15	Sweden	21 – 21	Belarus	Biljanini Izvori Sports Hall Attendance: 1,000 Referees: Bol, van Eck (NED)
	Ahlm, Utković 4	(Report)	Kurchankova 6

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2 December 20:15	Russia	31 – 22	Austria	Biljanini Izvori Sports Hall Attendance: 1,000 Referees: Leifsson, Pálsson (ISL)
	Davydenko, Dmitrieva, Vetkova 5	(Report)	Engel 8

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4 December 18:15	Austria	10 – 24	Sweden	Biljanini Izvori Sports Hall Attendance: 500 Referees: Rakytina, Tkachuk (UKR)
	Engel 4	(Report)	Ahlm 5

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4 December 20:15	Belarus	25 – 29	Russia	Biljanini Izvori Sports Hall Attendance: 700 Referees: Baranowski, Lemanowicz (POL)
	Mahilina 5	(Report)	Polenova, Poltoratskaya, Turey 4

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6 December 18:15	Russia	19 – 19	Sweden	Biljanini Izvori Sports Hall Attendance: 1,500 Referees: Dobrovits, Tájok (HUN)
	Polenova 4	(Report)	Ahlm 6

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6 December 20:15	Austria	21 - 31	Belarus	Biljanini Izvori Sports Hall Attendance: 800 Referees: Nikolovski, Kolevski (MKD)
	Acimovic 7	(Report)	Mahilina 6

Group D (Skopje)

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GDIF	Points
Germany	3	3	0	0	89	80	+ 9	6
Macedonia	3	2	0	1	84	84	0	4
Croatia	3	1	0	2	86	89	− 3	2
Serbia	3	0	0	3	87	93	− 6	0

All times are Central European Time (UTC+1)

2 December 17:45	Croatia	30 – 26	Serbia	Boris Trajkovski Sports Arena Attendance: 2,000 Referees: Andersen, Sødal (NOR)
	Golubic, Penezic 7	(Report)	Lekic 9

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2 December 20:15	Germany	25 – 22	Macedonia	Boris Trajkovski Sports Arena Attendance: 4,500 Referees: Brunovsky, Canda (SVK)
	Krause 11	(Report)	Portjanko 8

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4 December 18:15	Serbia	31 – 32	Germany	Boris Trajkovski Sports Arena Attendance: 3,500 Referees: Lindroos, Leandersson (FIN)
	Lekic 8	(Report)	Jurack 8

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4 December 20:15	Macedonia	31 – 29	Croatia	Boris Trajkovski Sports Arena Attendance: 6,000 Referees: Dobrovits, Tájok (HUN)
	Kresoja, Portjanko 8	(Report)	Franic 7

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6 December 18:15	Germany	32 – 27	Croatia	Boris Trajkovski Sports Arena Attendance: 1,000 Referees: Rakytina, Tkachuk (UKR)
	Walzik 10	(Report)	Arslanagic 8

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6 December 20:15	Macedonia	31 – 30	Serbia	Boris Trajkovski Sports Arena Attendance: 6,000 Referees: Baranowski, Lemanowicz (POL)
	Todorovska 8	(Report)	Lekic 7

Main Round

Top 2 teams from each group advances to the Semifinals, while the third placed team from each group will compete in a 5th/6th place play-off.

	Team advanced to the Semifinals
	Team will compete for the 5th/6th place
	Team is eliminated from the tournament

Group I (Ohrid)

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GDIF	Points
Norway	5	4	1	0	156	111	+45	9
Spain	5	2	2	1	117	110	+ 7	6
Romania	5	3	0	2	143	141	+ 2	6
Hungary	5	1	1	3	114	134	−20	3
Ukraine	5	1	1	3	130	148	−18	3
Denmark	5	1	1	3	121	137	−16	3

All times are Central European Time (UTC+1)

9 December 16:15	Hungary	26 – 24	Ukraine	Biljanini Izvori Sports Hall Attendance: 700 Referees: Nikolovski, Kolevski (MKD)
	Görbicz 10	(Report)	Shymkute 11

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9 December 18:15	Romania	18 – 26	Spain	Biljanini Izvori Sports Hall Attendance: 1,100 Referees: Lindroos, Leandersson (FIN)
	Ardean-Elisei 7	(Report)	Aguilar 6

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9 December 20:15	Denmark	19 – 31	Norway	Biljanini Izvori Sports Hall Attendance: 1,500 Referees: Marić, Mašić (SRB)
	Troelsen 5	(Report)	Riegelhuth 9

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10 December 16:15	Romania	40 – 32	Ukraine	Biljanini Izvori Sports Hall Attendance: 700 Referees: Baranowski, Lemanowicz (POL)
	Lecusanu 10	(Report)	Pidpalova 11

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10 December 18:15	Hungary	20 – 34	Norway	Biljanini Izvori Sports Hall Attendance: 1,000 Referees: Lindroos, Leandersson (FIN)
	Bulath, Sopronyi 4	(Report)	Lunde 7

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10 December 20:15	Denmark	26 – 23	Spain	Biljanini Izvori Sports Hall Attendance: 700 Referees: Nikolovski, Kolevski (MKD)
	Aaen 8	(Report)	Mangué 10

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11 December 16:15	Hungary	21 – 23	Spain	Biljanini Izvori Sports Hall Attendance: 1,100 Referees: Brunovsky, Canda (SVK)
	Görbicz, Verten 4	(Report)	Mangué 7

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11 December 18:15	Denmark	25 – 30	Ukraine	Biljanini Izvori Sports Hall Attendance: 1,200 Referees: Marić, Mašić (SRB)
	Skov 6	(Report)	Managarova, Sheyenko 6

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11 December 20:15	Romania	31 – 37	Norway	Biljanini Izvori Sports Hall Attendance: 1,500 Referees: Baranowski, Lemanowicz (POL)
	Neagu 7	(Report)	Riegelhuth 7

Group II (Skopje)

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GDIF	Points
Germany	5	4	1	0	145	111	+24	9
Russia	5	3	1	1	137	116	+21	7
Croatia	5	2	0	3	149	146	+ 3	4
Macedonia	5	2	0	3	129	145	-16	4
Sweden	5	1	2	2	110	125	-15	4
Belarus	5	0	2	3	133	150	-17	2

All times are Central European Time (UTC+1)

8 December 16:15	Belarus	35 – 43	Croatia	Boris Trajkovski Sports Arena Attendance: 600 Referees: Rakytina, Tkachuk (UKR)
	Platanovich 9	(Report)	Golubić 12

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8 December 18:15	Sweden	22 – 33	Germany	Boris Trajkovski Sports Arena Attendance: 2,000 Referees: Dobrovits, Tájok (HUN)
	Boson 6	(Report)	Jurack 10

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8 December 20:15	Russia	43 – 24	Macedonia	Boris Trajkovski Sports Arena Attendance: 6,000 Referees: Andersen, Sødal (NOR)
	Levina 7	(Report)	Todorovska 5

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10 December 16:15	Russia	24 – 21	Croatia	Boris Trajkovski Sports Arena Attendance: 500 Referees: Leifsson, Pálsson (ISL)
	Khmyrova 5	(Report)	Franić 8

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10 December 18:15	Sweden	24 – 23	Macedonia	Boris Trajkovski Sports Arena Attendance: 6,000 Referees: Brunovsky, Canda (SVK)
	Ahlm 8	(Report)	Todorovska 10

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10 December 20:15	Belarus	28 – 28	Germany	Boris Trajkovski Sports Arena Attendance: 200 Referees: Bol, van Eck (NED)
	Kurchankova 8	(Report)	Neukamp 6

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11 December 16:15	Sweden	24 – 29	Croatia	Boris Trajkovski Sports Arena Attendance: 300 Referees: Bol, van Eck (NED)
	Flognman 4	(Report)	Arslanagić 7

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11 December 18:15	Russia	22 – 27	Germany	Boris Trajkovski Sports Arena Attendance: 1,000 Referees: Leifsson, Pálsson (ISL)
	Khmyrova, Turey 6	(Report)	Jurack, Loerper 7

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11 December 20:15	Belarus	24 – 29	Macedonia	Boris Trajkovski Sports Arena Attendance: 6,000 Referees: Dobrovits, Tájok (HUN)
	Artsiukhovich 5	(Report)	Todorovska 7

Final round

	Semifinal				Final
	13 December - 14:00 (Skopje)
	Spain	32
	Germany	29
					14 December - 16:30 (Skopje)
					Spain	21
					Norway	34
					Bronze Match
	13 December - 16:30 (Skopje)			14 December - 14:00 (Skopje)
	Norway	24		Germany	21
	Russia	18			Russia	24

5th/6th Placement Match

13 December 11:30	Romania	36 – 33	Croatia	Boris Trajkovski Sports Arena Attendance: 500 Referees: Leifsson, Pálsson (ISL)
	Amariei 7	(17–15)	Arslanagic, Horvat 7
	3× 2×	(Report)	1× 3×
	FT: 29–29

Semifinals

13 December 14:00	Spain	32 – 29	Germany	Boris Trajkovski Sports Arena Attendance: 1,000 Referees: Andersen, Sødal (NOR)
	Garmendia 8	(12 – 13)	Jurack 9
	4× 3×	(Report)	1× 3×

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13 December 16:30	Norway	24 – 18	Russia	Boris Trajkovski Sports Arena Attendance: 1,800 Referees: Brunovsky, Canda (SVK)
	Riegelhuth 5	(12 – 7)	Turey, Poltoratskaya 4
	3× 3×	(Report)	3× 3×

Bronze Match

14 December 14:00	Russia	24 – 21	Germany	Boris Trajkovski Sports Arena Attendance: 2,300 Referees: Dobrovits, Tájok (HUN)
	Poltoratskaya 8	(17 – 11)	Melbeck 6
	2× 4×	(Report)	1× 2×

Final

14 December 16:30	Norway	34 – 21	Spain	Boris Trajkovski Sports Arena Attendance: 5,000 Referees: Rakytina, Tkachuk (UKR)
	Nøstvold 7	(13–12)	Fernández, Mangué 4
	2× 3×	(Report)	4× 3×

Ranking and Statistics

Final ranking

	Norway
	Spain
	Russia
4	Germany
5	Romania
6	Croatia
7	Macedonia
8	Hungary
9	Sweden
10	Ukraine
11	Denmark
12	Belarus
13	Serbia
14	France
15	Austria
16	Portugal

Source: EuroHandball.com

2008 Women's European Champions Norway 4th Title Team Roster Ragnhild Aamodt, Isabel Blanco, Karoline Dyhre Breivang, Marit Malm Frafjord, Kari Aalvik Grimsbø, Katrine Lunde Haraldsen, Camilla Herrem, Kari Mette Johansen, Tine Kristiansen, Tonje Larsen, Heidi Løke, Kristine Lunde, Tonje Nøstvold, Terese Pedersen, Linn-Kristin Riegelhuth and Linn Jørum Sulland. Head Coach: Marit Breivik.

All-Star Team

• Goalkeeper: Katrine Lunde Haraldsen (NOR)
• Left wing: Valentina Ardean-Elisei (ROU)
• Left back: Tonje Larsen (NOR)
• Pivot: Begoña Fernández (ESP)
• Centre back: Kristine Lunde (NOR)
• Right back: Grit Jurack (GER)
• Right wing: Linn-Kristin Riegelhuth (NOR)

Chosen by team officials and EHF experts: EHF-Euro.com

Top Goalkeepers Rank Name Team % Saves Shots 1 Natascha Schilk Austria 60% 3 5 2 Katrine Lunde Haraldsen Norway 47% 88 187 3 Clara Woltering Germany 44% 79 178 4 Madeleine Grundström Sweden 43% 74 172 Anna Sedoykina Russia 72 166 6 Inna Suslina Russia 41% 62 146 Jana Krause Germany 12 29 8 Amandine Leynaud France 38% 41 109 Paula Ungureanu Romania 6 16 10 Luminiţa Dinu-Huţupan Romania 37% 98 265 Source: EHF-Euro.com

Top goalscorers

Rank	Name	Team	Goals	Shots	%
1	Linn-Kristin Riegelhuth	Norway	51	77	66%
2	Grit Jurack	Germany	46	88	52%
3	Marta Mangué	Spain	43	84	51%
4	Anita Görbicz	Hungary	39	79	49%
5	Natalija Todorovska	Macedonia	38	55	69%
6	Andrea Penezic	Croatia	37	69	54%
	Valentina Ardean-Elisei	Romania		60	62%
8	Dijana Golubic	Croatia	33	53	62%
	Julija Portjanko	Macedonia		71	46%
10	Kristina Franic	Croatia	32	50	64%

Source: EHF-Euro.com

Other awards

• Most Valuable Player: Kristine Lunde (NOR)
• Best Defence Player: Nadezda Muravyeva (RUS)

Chosen by team officials and EHF experts: EHF-Euro.com

External links

• European Handball Federation
• 8th Women's Handball European Championship 2008 in the Republic of Macedonia
• EHF Women's EURO 2008