Netherlands (NED)

The Netherlands played their first ever EHF EURO in 2020 in Norway, and their result was pretty satisfying, with a 32:24 win in the preliminary round against Latvia. They might not have made it to the main round, after finishing behind future champions Spain and Germany, but they showed great future potential.

Now they are back, after an impressive qualifying phase that saw them finishing level with Slovenia in group 5 and three points in front of Poland, a much more experienced team.

Dutch players have been gaining individual experience in some of the best clubs in Europe sinc 2020. Luc Steins was signed by Paris Saint-Germain while left-handed Kay Smits made the trip to Germany to play with SC Magdeburg. Bobby Schagen and goalkeeper Bart Ravensbergen have also proved themselves to be late bloomers, taking responsibilities in Lemgo and Nordhorn, also in the Bundesliga.

With their key players on top form and playing in the biggest leagues in Europe, could the Netherlands hope for an even better result at EHF EURO 2022 than two years previously?

In group B, they will face tough opposition. Portugal, a side that will want to repeat their 2020 triumph where they reached the main round, hosts Hungary and ever-dangerous Iceland will give the Dutch a hard time.

But during the qualifiers, the Netherlands proved that they could remain composed even in hostile territories. They did not lose any of their away games during the qualifying campaign, showing that they could well be a threat at EHF EURO 2022.