The fates of several teams were determined on the penultimate day of the main round at the Women's European Handball Championship in Skopje. Following their defeat to France, the Germany squad – which includes Alina Grijseels and Lisa Antl – can only reach the fifth-place play-off. The same applies to the Netherlands, whose ranks include Yara ten Holte and Zoë Sprengers.

The DHB team held their own very well for long spells of their match against Olympics champions France, who were the heavy favourites. They were only two goals behind at the start of the second period but too many mistakes and missed chances ultimately proved costly, as they slipped to a 29-21 defeat. The top goalscorer was once again BVB player Alina Grijseels, who scored seven times. Lisa Antl only made a cameo appearance but still scored a goal.

The Netherlands – whose squad includes Yara ten Holte, Zoë Sprengers and the injured Harma von Kreij – watched on powerlessly as Montenegro narrowly beat Romania. That means that the 2019 world champions can also no longer reach the semi-finals. 

The winner of the fifth-place play-off will be determined on Wednesday. The match is of great significance because the winner will be guaranteed a place in qualifying for the Olympic Games. Spain, Germany, Romania and the Netherlands could all still climb up to third place in the main round, which would see them qualify for the fifth-place play-off. But even if Germany do manage to win their match against Romania (15:30 CET), they will still be reliant on help from elsewhere. Montenegro and France would need to win their matches against the Netherlands and Spain respectively. If one of those two teams, who have already qualified for the semi-finals, loses, then Germany will be going home even if they do beat Romania.

Photos: kolektiff images/Anze Malovrh/Axel Heimken

Hauptrunde (Gruppe II)
Pos. Team Pl. GD Pts.
1. France 4 32 8
2. Montenegro 4 4 6
3. Spain 4 -6 3
4. Netherlands 4 -9 3
5. Germany 4 -6 2
6. Romania 4 -15 2