Eight teams advance to the main round

The 2013 Women's 17 EHF EURO in Poland has seen its first decisions: With the group phase concluding on Sunday (18 August), eight teams kept their medal chances while another eight have to settle for the intermediate round playing for places 9 to 16.

In Group A Portugal advanced to the main round courtesy of a 25:21 victory against Romania, which were already qualified following two wins in their first two matches.

Spain fought hard to overtake their Portuguese neighbours in the group ranking, falling short just one goal as their 30:25 victory against Poland saw them finish with a goal difference of "-1" compared to Portugal's "0".

"We are really happy, because our target is accomplished. We have been working a lot for this result, it is very important for us," said Portugal's Patricia Rodrigues.

In Group B Denmark put themselves among the favourites for a podium finish at the tournament by beating France 35:26 on Sunday, recording their third consecutive victory.

Montenegro followed them into the main round courtesy of a 19:17 victory against Netherlands.

Russia topped Group C unbeaten after they had no problems overcoming Sweden 27:17. Both teams had already qualified for the main round before that last group match.

We showed some great character today. We were preparing for this game for a long time, not just in tactical way, but also mentally," said Russia's right back Ekaterina Nefedova.

"Our team is well rehearsed, each girl can jump into the squad and make a difference on the court. We won because we showed strong teamwork."

Slovakia beat Hungary 27:24 but both teams have to settle for the intermediate round.

Group D was hotly contested with all four teams having the chance to advance before the last matches were played.

In the end it became Croatia and Norway that celebrated with the former beating Czech Republic 29:24 and the latter taking home a 28:22 victory against Germany.

Final tournament facts and figures

For an overview of all group standings in the final tournament click here.

The main round and the intermediate round will be played on 20 and 21 August 2013.

Also become a fan of the European Handball Federation's Women's EHF EURO Facebook page for more photos and to keep up to date with all the latest developments in European women's national team handball.

All matches can be followed via a live stream. More information can also be found on the event's official website.