2008 European Women's Handball Championship

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.

2008 EHF European Women's
Handball Championship

MACEDONIA 2008, 2/14 DECEMBER Европско првенство во ракомет за жени 2008
Tournament details
Host country	Republic of Macedonia
Dates	2–14 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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Venues

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

Skopje	Ohrid
Boris Trajkovski Sports Arena Capacity: 10,000	Biljanini Izvori Sports Hall Capacity: 5,000
Skopje Ohrid

Qualification

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

Host Country

1.  Macedonia (3) :1998,2000,2006

Qualified from the 2006 European Championship

1.  Norway (7) :1994,1996,1998,2000,2002,2004,2006 (Defending Champions)
2.  Russia (7) :1994,1996,1998,2000,2002,2004,2006
3.  France (4) :2000,2002,2004,2006
4.  Germany (7) :1994,1996,1998,2000,2002,2004,2006
5.  Hungary (7) :1994,1996,1998,2000,2002,2004,2006

Qualified from play-offs

[1]

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

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.[2]

Seeding

The draw for the preliminary round groups took place on 20 July 2008, in Ohrid.[3]

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

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 semifinals. Losers of the semifinals advance to the 3rd-4th Place Play-off, and winners advance to the Final.

Preliminary round

All times are local (UTC+1).

Group A

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Romania	3	3	0	0	84	71	+13	6	Main round
2	Denmark	3	1	1	1	75	76	−1	3
3	Hungary	3	1	1	1	76	79	−3	3
4	France	3	0	0	3	74	83	−9	0

Source: EHF

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

3 December 20:15	France	23–24	Denmark	Boris Trajkovski Sports Arena, Skopje 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, Skopje Attendance: 700 Referees: Brunovský, Čanda (SVK)
	Ardean-Elisei 8	Report	Dembele, Limal 4

5 December 20:15	Denmark	26–26	Hungary	Boris Trajkovski Sports Arena, Skopje 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, Skopje Attendance: 600 Referees: Andersen, Sødal (NOR)
	Kamto N'jitam 7	Report	Görbicz 9

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

Group B

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Norway	3	2	1	0	88	60	+28	5	Main round
2	Spain	3	1	2	0	74	69	+5	4
3	Ukraine	3	1	1	1	82	81	+1	3
4	Portugal	3	0	0	3	67	101	−34	0

Source: EHF

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

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

---

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

5 December 19:15	Ukraine	20–33	Norway	Biljanini Izvori Sports Hall, Ohrid 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, Ohrid Attendance: 1,000 Referees: Brunovský, Čanda (SVK)
	Beatriz 7	Report	Shymkute 8

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

Group C

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Russia	3	2	1	0	79	66	+13	5	Main round
2	Sweden	3	1	2	0	64	50	+14	4
3	Belarus	3	1	1	1	77	71	+6	3
4	Austria	3	0	0	3	53	86	−33	0

Source: EHF

2 December 18:15	Sweden	21–21	Belarus	Biljanini Izvori Sports Hall, Ohrid Attendance: 1,000 Referees: Bol, van Eck (NED)
	Ahlm, Utković 4	(13–7)	Kurchankova 6
		Report

2 December 20:15	Russia	31–22	Austria	Biljanini Izvori Sports Hall, Ohrid Attendance: 1,000 Referees: Leifsson, Pálsson (ISL)
	three players 5	(13–10)	Engel 8
	3× 2×	Report	4× 2×

---

4 December 18:15	Austria	10–24	Sweden	Biljanini Izvori Sports Hall, Ohrid Attendance: 500 Referees: Rakytina, Tkachuk (UKR)
	Engel 4	(5–11)	Ahlm 5
		Report

4 December 20:15	Belarus	25–29	Russia	Biljanini Izvori Sports Hall, Ohrid Attendance: 700 Referees: Baranowski, Lemanowicz (POL)
	Mahilina 5	(12–18)	three players 4
	3× 5× 1×	Report	3× 4×

---

6 December 18:15	Russia	19–19	Sweden	Biljanini Izvori Sports Hall, Ohrid Attendance: 1,500 Referees: Dobrovits, Tájok (HUN)
	Polenova 4	(12–18)	Ahlm 6
	4× 2×	Report	2× 1×

6 December 20:15	Austria	21–31	Belarus	Biljanini Izvori Sports Hall, Ohrid Attendance: 800 Referees: Nikolovski, Kolevski (MKD)
	Aćimović 7	(12–14)	Mahilina 6
		Report

Group D

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Germany	3	3	0	0	89	80	+9	6	Main round
2	Macedonia (H)	3	2	0	1	84	84	0	4
3	Croatia	3	1	0	2	86	89	−3	2
4	Serbia	3	0	0	3	87	93	−6	0

Source: EHF
(H) Host.

2 December 17:45	Croatia	30–26	Serbia	Boris Trajkovski Sports Arena, Skopje Attendance: 2,000 Referees: Andersen, Sødal (NOR)
	Golubić, Penezić 7	Report	Lekić 9

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

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

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

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

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

Main round

Group I

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Norway	5	4	1	0	156	111	+45	9	Semifinals
2	Spain	5	2	2	1	117	110	+7	6[lower-alpha 1]
3	Romania	5	3	0	2	143	141	+2	6[lower-alpha 1]	Fifth place game
4	Hungary	5	1	1	3	114	134	−20	3[lower-alpha 2]
5	Ukraine	5	1	1	3	130	148	−18	3[lower-alpha 2]
6	Denmark	5	1	1	3	121	137	−16	3[lower-alpha 2]

Source: EHF
Notes:

1. Romania 18–26 Spain
2. Hungary 3 Pts, Ukraine 2 Pts, Denmark 1 Pt

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

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

9 December 20:15	Denmark	19–31	Norway	Biljanini Izvori Sports Hall, Ohrid 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, Ohrid Attendance: 700 Referees: Baranowski, Lemanowicz (POL)
	Lecusanu 10	Report	Pidpalova 11

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

10 December 20:15	Denmark	26–23	Spain	Biljanini Izvori Sports Hall, Ohrid 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, Ohrid Attendance: 1,100 Referees: Brunovský, Čanda (SVK)
	Görbicz, Vérten 4	Report	Mangué 7

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

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

Group II

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Germany	5	4	1	0	145	121	+24	9	Semifinals
2	Russia	5	3	1	1	137	116	+21	7
3	Croatia	5	2	0	3	149	146	+3	4[lower-alpha 1]	Fifth place game
4	Macedonia (H)	5	2	0	3	129	145	−16	4[lower-alpha 1]
5	Sweden	5	1	2	2	110	125	−15	4[lower-alpha 1]
6	Belarus	5	0	2	3	133	150	−17	2

Source: EHF
(H) Host.
Notes:

1. Hungary 2 Pts, +3 GD; Macedonia 2 Pts, +1 GD; Sweden 2 Pts, –4 GD

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

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

8 December 20:15	Russia	43–24	Macedonia	Boris Trajkovski Sports Arena, Skopje Attendance: 6,000 Referees: Andersen, Sødal (NOR)
	Levina 7	(15–12)	Todorovska 5
	2× 4×	Report	4× 3×

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10 December 16:15	Russia	24–21	Croatia	Boris Trajkovski Sports Arena, Skopje Attendance: 500 Referees: Leifsson, Pálsson (ISL)
	Khmyrova 5	(11–10)	Franić 8
	3× 3× 1×	Report	3×

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

10 December 20:15	Belarus	28–28	Germany	Boris Trajkovski Sports Arena, Skopje 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, Skopje Attendance: 300 Referees: Bol, van Eck (NED)
	Flognman 4	Report	Arslanagić 7

11 December 18:15	Russia	22–27	Germany	Boris Trajkovski Sports Arena, Skopje Attendance: 1,000 Referees: Leifsson, Pálsson (ISL)
	Khmyrova, Turey 6	(12–14)	Jurack, Loerper 7
	2× 2×	Report	2× 2×

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

Final round

Bracket

	Semifinals				Final
	13 December
	Norway	24
					14 December
	Russia	18
					Norway	34
	13 December
					Spain	21
	Spain	32
	Germany	29
					Third place
					14 December
					Russia	24
					Germany	21

Fifth place game

13 December 11:30	Romania	36–33 (ET)	Croatia	Boris Trajkovski Sports Arena, Skopje Attendance: 500 Referees: Leifsson, Pálsson (ISL)
	Amariei 7	(17–15)	Arslanagić, Horvat 7
	2× 3×	Report	3× 1×
	FT: 29–29 ET: 7–4

Semifinals

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

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

Third place game

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

Final

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

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) Best defence player:  Nadezhda Muravyova (RUS) Most valuable player:  Kristine Lunde (NOR) Chosen by team officials and EHF experts: 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 Penezić  Croatia 37 69 54% Valentina Ardean-Elisei  Romania 60 62% 8 Dijana Golubić  Croatia 33 53 62% Julija Portjanko  Macedonia 71 46% 10 Kristina Franić  Croatia 32 50 64% Source: EHF

Top goalkeepers (minimum 20% of total shots received by team) Rank Name Team % Saves Shots 1 Katrine Lunde Haraldsen  Norway 47 88 187 2 Clara Woltering  Germany 44 79 178 3 Madeleine Grundström  Sweden 43 74 172 Anna Sedoykina  Russia 72 166 5 Inna Suslina  Russia 41 62 151 6 Amandine Leynaud  France 38 41 109 7 Luminiţa Dinu  Romania 37 98 265 8 Jelena Grubišić  Croatia 36 68 189 Iryna Honcharova  Ukraine 42 117 Terese Pedersen  Norway 29 80 Source: EHF-Euro.com

Notes

1. Match results
2. ""EURO squads published"". Archived from the original on 8 December 2008. Retrieved 8 December 2008.
3. "Preview of the Women's EURO 2008 Final Tournament Draw". EHF. 17 July 2008. Retrieved 17 September 2020.

External links

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