North Macedonia

After featuring at the Women's EHF EURO 2022 as co-hosts of the tournament, the Macedonians are back at the Women's EHF EURO 2024 through the qualifiers for the first time since 2012. It will be their seventh appearance at the European championships in total.

Head coach Kristijan Grchevski took the helm ahead of the qualifiers and the "Lionesses" recorded four wins against Lithuania and Azerbaijan, and only lost to Spain, finishing in second place in the standings.

Grchevski has a young and talented squad at his disposal with Elena Gjorgjijevska, Jovana Sazdovska and Simona Madjovska as the only experienced players over the age of 30 and with Sara Ristovska as the star player of the squad. CS Rapid Bucuresti's electric right wing, Ristovska played a key role in helping the Macedonian national team book a ticket for Debrecen as the 28-year-old scored 26 goals in the qualifiers and was the squad's top scorer.

Brest Bretagne Handball’s 17-year-old prodigy Iva Mladenovska is also in the mix, playing in her second major tournament, and she will be one of several young players expecting to have prominent roles in Debrecen.

The Macedonians are definitely the dark horses in group A. Grchevski's squad displayed glimpses of their potential during the qualifiers against lower-ranked opponents, but the passionate Macedonians must make a big step forward if they are to improve from 16th place at the Women's EHF EURO 2022.