Summary: Group C produces first draw; Croatia crush Spain

• groups B and C start their tournaments on Friday
• Iceland snatch a 27:27 draw with Serbia, Austria defeat Romania 31:24 
• Hungary win a physical contest with Montenegro 26:24 and Croatia beat Spain by a historic 10 goals
• download the Home of Handball app to make your match predictions and vote for Player of the Match (45 minutes into each game)
• follow the EHF EURO social media channels: X, Facebook and Instagram
• find out how to follow the tournament
• all photographs © Kolektiff Images

22:45

We finish our coverage with these two incredible goals from Aron Pálmarsson against Serbia. He didn't play a big part in the game, but his impact was immense despite that.

Remember all the match highlights are on YouTube, and we're back again tomorrow at 10:00 CET looking forward to round 2!

22:26

Well, tonight has shaken up things with group C wide, wide open - and Spain not looking like the threats they usually are. Check out the match reviews for those last two games.

22:20

Here's the closing minutes of that nail-biter between Hungary and Montenegro - so so close!

22:09 | FULL-TIME

Hungary 26:24 Montenegro

Kristóf Palasics made a crucial, immense save in the closing seconds, kicking away Branko Vujovic's attempt, and that gave Zoran Ilic the chance to give Hungary a two-goal win on the buzzer. 

The immensely physical match comes to an end with two points for Hungary to put them top of the group. Montenegrin goalkeeper is Player of the Match, having made 11 saves (30.6 per cent).

22:01 | FULL-TIME

Spain 29:39 Croatia

That's it, an inspired Croatia hand Spain their biggest-ever EHF EURO defeat, bigger than any since 2006 when they lost 23:31 to France. It's also their biggest defeat in any competition since the 2009 World Championship, when they lost 22:32 to - Croatia.

Mario Sostaric, Ivan Martinovic and Aleix Gómez all score eight goals, but maybe the stat of the night is the single save for Spain. 

Martinovic is voted as Player of the Match, sponsored by Grundfos.

21:53

Hungary take a 23:21 lead against Montenegro, their biggest since the start of the second half. 

Gonzalo Perez de Vargas has made a save! That's one out of 25 shots ...

21:47

There could well be another draw in group C, which would be fascinating. Still only one goal in it with 14 minutes to play.

21:44

Time to vote for the Player of the Match - open your app!

21:42

Croatia are having a great time, and Spain are having a nightmare. They're on for their biggest-ever EHF EURO defeat (eight goals) and finding no solutions to stop it.

In Munich, with 20 minutes to go, Vuk Lazovic earns his third two-minute suspension and goes off hitting his forehead in frustration. But it's still a close game. Bence Bánhidi is then suspended after actually tearing the shirt off his Montenegrin opponent. The amount of physicality is insane.

21:33

The referees call a video replay of a foul on Kauldi Odriozola and gives Domagoj Duvnjak a two-minute suspension. Ian Tarrafeta scores when the game resumes, and it's 24:16 to Croatia.

Over in Munich, Hungary lead 18:16 but Bendegúz Bóka has just received their fifth two-minute suspension.

21:25

Jordi Ribera's decision to play seven-on-six has just resulted in two empty net goals for Croatia, and they lead 22:14 all of a sudden. This is disastrous for Spain.

21:22

The match in Mannheim has resumed; Munich will be on again soon.

21:14

Direct from the arena in Mannheim, EHF journalist Danijela Vekić has been watching the encounter between Spain and Croatia unfold, and here is her assessment of the game so far.

21:10 | HALF-TIME

Hungary 14:14 Montenegro

The second-ever match between Hungary and Montenegro is proving to be a scrappy affair, with four two-minute suspensions for each team, a video replay, and several falls. The two sides are fairly evenly-matched - Hungary perhaps has the edge, but Montenegro's equaliser just before the buzzer means either could still take the win.

21:07 | HALF-TIME

Spain 14:18 Croatia

Spain are not out of this match, but Croatia must take credit for the way they've attacked the game from the start. Their pace and physicality in defence has paid dividends, and left Spain scrabbling a bit for goals. 

In contrast to many matches we've seen so far this tournament, the goalkeepers are nowhere to be seen in this game. 

21:01

A slightly better period from Spain, spearheaded by the experienced Joan Cañellas, keeps Spain in touch - 11:15 at 26 minutes.

20:57

Hungary and Montenegro have each had three two-mintue suspensions after 21 minutes, but Hungary still lead. 

Montenegrin right back Branko Vujovic, an important part of the team, falls hard and takes a moment to get up again. Hungary lead 10:8.

20:53

Gonzalo Perez de Vargas is replaced with Sergey Hernandez after missing 11 shots.  

20:49

Spain are trying a seven-on-six attack to close the rapidly expanding gap with Croatia, who have extended their lead to 11:6. The Croatian fans are absolutely loving this.

Hungary and Montenegro are locked at 7:7 halfway through the first half.

20:43

Spain are waking up and it's back to 5:8, largely thanks to Agústin Casado who's scored three. Croatia's pace is high and their defence good when Spain are in attack.

Hungary continue to lead Montenegro by one goal.

20:40

In Munich, Hungary have just taken a 5:4 lead but it's been a very equal first half against Montenegro.

20:36

Croatia have had an excellent start against Spain, taking a 4:1 lead in just over five minutes. They're really taking advantage of every Spanish mistake and Jordi Ribera has just called his first timeout.

20:31

The next two games are up! Will they be as exciting as Iceland vs Serbia?

20:16

The next two matches throw off in about 15 minutes. Find squad lists and the match tickers here:

• Spain vs Croatia
• Hungary vs Montenegro

19:55

After that breathless draw, and strong showing by Austria, here's the match reviews to catch up on the key points.

The most interesting fact is that Iceland and Serbia drew at the EHF EURO once before in their opener - in 2010. Iceland went on to win bronze that year ...

19:45

The Stefan Kretschzmar documentary is now live on YouTube, to fill the gap before the next matches.

19:37 | FULL-TIME

Austria 31:24 Romania

Austria wrap up a good first win against Romania, who were tenacious for a long time but did not have the stamina to keep up in the closing moments. 

Austrian goalkeeper Constantin Möstl is voted as Player of the Match - he made 17 saves (42.5 per cent). 

Iceland 27:27 Serbia

An insane match ends in a draw! In the last two minutes Aron Pálmarsson scores his only two goals of the game and keeps Iceland in it; a superb save of the last Serbian attack then gives Sigvaldi Bjørn Gudjonsson the opportunity for a fast break and he scores to level with five seconds on the clock.

Best game of the tournament so far, by miles. 

Bjarki Mar Elisson is Player of the Match with seven goals from nine shots. 

19:29

Serbia lead by three goals with two minutes to go - and they're just not scoring. This game looks like it's going to the Balkans.

19:24

Two good Viggó Kristjánsson penalties make it a one-goal game in Munich. Viktor Hallgrímsson is back on court after Björgvin Pall Gustavsson saved zero from four shots. Crunch time approaches!

19:20

As Toni Gerona calls another timeout to tell his team to work together, here's one of Dejan Milosavljev's best saves.

19:17

With just over 10 minutes left Björgvin Pall Gustavsson has replaced Viktor Hallgrímsson, but he lets the first shot in and Serbia lead 21:18; Elvar Jónsson replies to close it to 21:19. Iceland have time to come back but it's going to be awfully tight. 

Austria lead Romania by four.

19:13

Open your Home of Handball apps and vote for the Player of the Match(es) - who will it be?

Austria lead Romania 20:18; Serbia lead Iceland 18:16.

19:09

Iceland are turning over the ball too often and it gave Serbia a three-goal lead. Viggó Kristjánsson closes it up to two and then Viktor Hallgrímsson manages a save after a period where Serbia have scored more easily; an on-form Bjarki Mar Elisson closes the score back to 16:17.

19:05

Serbia's defence continue to effectively slow Iceland down and they concede a third two-minute suspension. Iceland are still struggling to score and Serbia lead 14:13.

18:58

Serbia have had things all their way this half so far and now lead 12:11, with Petar Djordjic making an immediate impact.

Austria, meanwhile, have extended their lead to 17:14 in Mannheim.

18:55

Thirty minutes to resolve two very close matches ...

18:50

How good has the goalkeeping been this tournament?

18:44

As promised, here's what EHF journalist Courtney Gahan has to say about Iceland vs Serbia.

18:41 | HALF-TIME

Austria 15:14 Romania

Xavi Pascual will not have wanted to lose two players to red cards, but Romania have otherwise had a solid first half, keeping up with Austria throughout and responding when their opponents have taken the lead. Both goalkeepers - Constantin Möstl and Ionut Iancu - have had excellent first halves, both saving nine shots for an efficiency of around 40 per cent.

Sebastian Frimmel and Robert Weber are currently the top scorers with four goals each.

Iceland 11:10 Serbia

For a while we were consulting the statistics on the lowest-scoring first half in history, but the pace really picked up and since then it's been a frenzy of amazing handball. More on this match from EHF journalist Courtney Gahan in a moment ...

18:32

Another red card for Romania as Liviu Caba hits Lucas Hutecek in the face and is sent off immediately. Is this a chance for Austria to assert control? It's still 13:11.

18:29

Austria and Romania are still level at 11:11 as the clock ticks through 22 minutes; Robert Weber scores a penalty - his fourth goal - to put Austria up 12:11, and Sebastian Frimmel then makes it 13:11. 

In Munich Serbia are back level as Viktor Hallgrímsson's efficiency drops off a little.

18:25

Toni Gerona calls a timeout as Iceland suddenly find the pace they need and score three times to go up 7:4. 

This is worth watching - Serbia's second goal, a bit earlier on.

18:21

Halfway through the first half, and it's 3:3 in Munich in a very physical match. 

Romania are still going toe-to-toe with Austria - 9:9 after 19 minutes.

18:18

Video replays in both games to check fouls and both result in red cards at almost the same time - Elliði Viðarsson is suspended in Munich, and Nicusor Andrei Negru in Mannheim. 

Both penalties taken after the red cards are also saved!

18:10

And now the scoring has started! Uros Borzas scores first, but Elliði Viðarsson picks up the rebound from Viktor Hallgrímsson and scores long-range to equalise instantly. Nemanja Ilic soon replies and Aron Pálmarsson's effort hits the crossbar, so Serbia lead 2:1.

Romania have equalised against Austria, it's 3:3 in Mannheim.

18:07

Iceland want to play fast, but the Serbian defence is extremely good and after over four minutes nobody has scored. Both goalkeepers are on fire. 

In Mannheim, Austria lead Romania 3:1 after six minutes.

18:03

As it happens, Viktor Hallgrímsson has started the match, so he's clearly feeling fine - excellent news for Iceland. He starts with a good save, matching the earlier one from Dejan Milosavljev on Iceland's first attack.

18:01

Groups B and C have begun!

17:57

There were some concerns over Icelandic goalkeeper Viktor Hallgrímsson's healthy after he missed training yesterday, but he is in today's squad - Björgvin Pall Gustavsson seems more likely to start between the posts, however. 

17:50

Just 10 minutes until throw-off and the teams are being introduced.

Follow the live match statistics here:

• Austria vs Romania
• Iceland vs Serbia

17:42

Don't forget the exclusive documentary on Stefan Kretschzmar premieres tonight at 19:30 CET - and it's 56 minutes long, so you can watch it on YouTube between the matches.

We have a signed poster up for grabs, click here to play to win it! 

17:30

Serbian coach Toni Gerona thinks group C is the toughest in the tournament, and his players have a point to prove tonight.

17:27

Iceland's Aron Pálmarsson has told broadcasters the team are "ready to rock and roll" for the tournament and will try to run for 60 minutes against Serbia.

17:00

With an hour to throw-off and crowds starting to gather in Mannheim and Munich, a little recap of the matches approaching tonight:

• in Mannheim, we start with Austria vs Romania: this is Romania's return to the final tournament after a 28-year-break, but Austria will be favourites after winning both encounters in the qualifiers
• then it's Spain vs Croatia in group B. Both sides have won EHF EURO medals and they know each other well, with Spanish and Croatian players playing alongside each other in six clubs
• over in Munich, Iceland and Serbia play their first official match in six years. Iceland want to improve on sixth place in 2022 while Serbia were 14th and will be eyeing the main round this time
• the day in Munich finishes with Hungary vs Montenegro; Hungary had a disappointing home tournament in 2022, while Montenegro secured their best-ever finish so will have hopes of a repeat

16:40

Memories of Wednesday's opening night will live long in the memory - were you there? Can you spot yourself among the 53,586 fans who were in the MERKUR SPIEL-ARENA?

16:20

With less than two hours until the match, we're back with some hype from Montenegro.

15:00

The blog will take a break now for an hour or so. We leave you with some training snaps from Croatia, and there's plenty more content to come!

14:45

Spain are often the dark horses of the EHF EURO - rarely the favourites to win, but in the last decade, always on the podium. They are the record medal-winners of the competition and they must not be counted out. Their game against Croatia tonight is the rematch of the 2020 final, and will certainly be a cracker. Here's a clip of their preparations in Mannheim.

14:25

Austria have been out for a stroll in chilly Mannheim, but promise that they're coming in hot ahead of their

game against Romania!

14:05

As Serbia prepare to play their first match, they've got the support of handball players back home. What a lovely video they've shared.

13:40

You might have missed this yesterday but it's worth 22 seconds of your time to watch - an insane sequence in the match between Portugal and Georgia.

13:02

Can Iceland win another EHF EURO medal? They picked up bronze in 2010 but since then have failed to reach the podium. Under a new coach, this year's squad are, as EHF journalist Courtney Gahan found out, confident but cautious ahead of their opener against Serbia.

12:35

It's time for our stat of the day, courtesy of Julian Rux. It shows that Croatia's usual penalty-taker, Ivan Cupic, had a higher success rate (88.9 per cent) at the Men's EHF EURO 2022 than his counterpart tonight, Spain's Aleix Gómez (81 per cent). Will that be crucial as the two sides face each other in their first-round game in Munich?

12:08

Austria begin their sixth Men's EHF EURO tournament this evening against Romania - a team they beat twice in the qualifiers for this championships. Who better than to talk to about their chances than their evergreen right wing Robert Weber, who has played a part in every single one of their European championship appearances?

EHF journalist Danijela Vekić caught up with Weber before today's game.

11:35

We shared the top five goals earlier, now here's the top five saves of last night, featuring the likes of Denmark's Emil Nielsen and the Netherlands' Bart Ravensbergen. 

11:15

Our team of journalists are out at media calls today, getting some thoughts on last night's games and those to come. Here's reaction from Czechia's Matej Havran and the Faroes' Elias Ellefsen á Skipagøtu on their performances in the first games.

10:40

Let's start Friday off with the best goals from last night - it was difficult to choose as there were plenty of excellent shots from the six games on Thursday. Chime in on on social media if you disagree with the choices ...

10:00

Hello and welcome to day 3 of the Men's EHF EURO 2024. After eight enthralling games over the last two days, we have four more tonight to complete round 1, including a repeat of the 2020 final. In Stockholm four years ago Spain beat Croatia in an insanely exciting final, so let's hope the rematch is as good. 

As ever, we begin the blog with the day's preview.