Germany's handball players will meet Switzerland, North Macedonia and France at the home European Championship next January. That was the result of the draw on Wednesday in Düsseldorf. The opening match, which is expected to set a world record for spectators in the Düsseldorf Arena with more than 50,000 fans, will be played by national coach Alfred Gislason's team against the Swiss on 10 January 2024.
The other games of the preliminary round group A against the Euro-22. North Macedonia (14 January) and Olympic champions France (16 January) will take place in Berlin. The top two teams in each of the six groups of four advance to the main round. In the event of the sporting qualification, the German team would play its four main round matches in Cologne's Lanxess Arena (18 to 24 January), where the final round (26 to 28 January) will also take place. The other European Championship venues are Mannheim, Munich and Hamburg.
The declared goal of the German Handball Federation (DHB) is to reach the semi-finals. It is already clear that Germany can meet world champions Denmark, defending champions Sweden or co-favourites Norway in the final round at the earliest. At the World Cup last January, the DHB selection took fifth place.