Summary: Germany and France win before world-record crowd

• the Men's EHF EURO 2024 throws off in Dusseldorf this evening
• France beat North Macedonia 39:29
• Germany keep Switzerland to record low score (27:14)
• watch the EHF EURO live show presented by Trivago from 15:30 CET on Twitch
• 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

23:00

That's us done from Dusseldorf - tomorrow, it's off to Berlin for group A, while groups D, E and F begin their campaigns. Join us again at 10:00 CET with the live blog ahead of throw-off in all three groups at 18:00 CET.

22:50

Enjoy this - we won't see crowds like this often for a handball match, even though we're expecting up to 20,000 for other games in this EHF EURO.

22:40

Our coverage is coming to an end. The highlights of that second match will be on YouTube shortly, and here's the highlights of France vs North Macedonia.

22:27

Here's the second match review of the night: how the world-record crowd drove Germany to a good opening night.

22:15

No prizes for guessing who the Player of the Match is - it's Andy Wolff. A worthy winner of the prize, sponsored by Grundfos.

22:13 | FULL-TIME

GERMANY 27:14 SWITZERLAND

If the first half was bad for Switzerland, the second was even worse. They went 17 minutes without scoring and managed only six goals in the half. This is their lowest-scoring performance at an EHF EURO in their 16 matches in history.

Juri Knorr is top scorer with six goals from 12 shots; Lenny Rubin is Switzerland's top scorer, with four goals. Andy Wolff finishes with 13 saves (59 per cent) and Nikola Portner 11 (35.5 per cent).

22:08

Enjoy a bit more Juri Knorr, as Germany steam ever-closer to a huge win.

22:05

Nikola Portner is down for a while, but gets to his feet to applause from the crowd. Leonard Grazioli gets his moment in the spotlight as Portner is looked after, and play resumes.

22:00

A shout out to Nikola Portner, who's made 11 saves. Without him things would be much worse for Switzerland, although as it's been 12 minutes and more since they scored, things aren't amazing. The German defence is just too good.

21:55

Voting is open for Player of the Match via the Home of Handball app!

Germany almost scored their 20th to go 10 up just now, but the referees ruled it was no goal and they must wait.

21:50

Martin Suter calls a timeout for Switzerland - the score is now 17:10. Juri Knorr leads the scoring with six goals; Andy Wolff has made nine saves (53 per cent) and Nikola Portner eight (33.33 per cent).

21:45

It's not a fast-paced game, everyone is taking their time on the transitions, giving the defence time to set up at the other end. Germany are still having more luck and Andy Wolff is still stopping plenty of shots (even if his save efficiency is 'down' to 53 per cent now).

21:38

We're off again, and Lenny Rubin starts things off well for Switzerland - can they make any headway against Germany's defence in this half?

21:33

Martin Vilstrup, Victor Tomas and friends are still live on Twitch - join them for the watchalong and post-match analysis!

21:22 | HALF-TIME

GERMANY 13:8 SWITZERLAND

Germany are absolutely dominating this game. Here's EHF journalist Kevin Domas's thoughts at the break.

21:14

They're chanting his name and this is why - Andy Wolff is playing insanely well tonight, although he's just let in Switzerland's fifth goal. We can let him off, his save efficiency is still at 66.7 per cent after 24 minutes.

21:11

The referees go to a video review for the first time this tournament and decide that Lukas Mertens did score. Germany are into double digits at 10:4.

21:06

Germany are effectively stopping most of the Swiss attacks; the men in red haven't scored for seven minutes and Andy Wolff has stopped 70 per cent of their shots.

21:00

Much has been said about Juri Knorr and his importance for Germany, but the centre back is still only 23 - however, he's not letting any pressure get to him tonight and has scored a couple of stunning goals already.

Julian Köster is also having a good night, as Germany take a 6:3 lead.

20:55

Andreas Wolff is out there doing Andy Wolff things in goal - but don't discount Nikola Portner at the other end, who is also frustrating Germany somewhat. It's 3:2 now; Wolff saved an Andy Schmid penalty but the Swiss legend netted on the rebound.

20:50

Who else but Andy Schmid to score first for Switzerland? After that first quick goal from Germany, it's been a slow few minutes with strong defence at both ends stopping all attempts. Schmid brings it level, though, at 1:1.

20:46

Back to business as Germany throw off against Switzerland and Juri Knorr scores the first goal within 60 seconds.

20:44

We can now confirm that the fans in the MERKUR SPIEL-ARENA have set a world record for the number of spectators at a handball match - 53,586! What an amazing occasion. 

20:36

The teams are being presented for the Germany vs Switzerland match. Find the line-ups here.

This match will have live audio description in German - click here to find out more and access the tool.

20:30

Culcha Candela are banging out their official song 'Celebration' and it's a proper party in the arena!

20:23

The German president, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, has arrived in the arena to formally open the tournament, alongside EHF President Michael Wiederer.

20:17

Dancers in white are now on court and the atmosphere is building.

20:12

The stadium is lit by thousands upon thousands of mobile phone lights, it's stunning!

19:44

Hot off the (virtual) press, here's the match review for the opening game. 

Next up is the opening ceremony at 20:00 CET, followed by Germany's game against Switzerland at 20:45 CET.

19:37

Germany have arrived in the arena for their warm-up, greeted by roars from their home fans. It's going to be deafening during the match.

19:25

Hugo Descat is the first player to be voted as Player of the Match, presented by Grundfos, after a seven-goal outing - from seven shots. 

19:23 | FULL-TIME

FRANCE 39:29 NORTH MACEDONIA

The crowd were on their feet for the final minute of the game but Kiril Lazarov's timeout did not meet with everyone's approval. 

Ultimately, France ran away with the game in the second half, leaving their opponents few chances. Better transitions and too many Macedonian turnovers meant the Olympic champions were able to test their whole bench and come away with their first two points of the tournament, ending in an empty net shot to make it a 10-goal win. 

19:15

Karl Konan is the only French outfield player not to have scored a goal - and he's currently on the bench, so may well not get a chance. That shows that Guillaume Gille has had the luxury of trying out different combinations in this opening match, ready for what could be tougher games ahead.

19:10

Benches are being rotated as the final quarter is well underway. France should have this wrapped up as they lead 31:24, but not everything is going their way - a fair few of Dika Mem's shots have gone wide or been stopped.

19:05

Don't forget, voting for the Player of the Match opens on the Home of Handball app 45 minutes into the game - that's not long now, so open up your phone and get ready to make your choice!

19:03

Charles Bolzinger's made just a couple of saves so far, but what a stop this one was!

18:59

The Macedonian defence is starting to crumble, but they get a reprieve as a Dylan Nahi fastbreak is ruled as a no-goal. But they are turning over the ball far too often and France are taking full advantage. It's now 24:18.

18:52

Benoit Kounkoud, a late call-up to the French team, gets his first goal and puts France five up at 19:14. North Macedonia continue to play slow in attack.

18:49

The second half throws off, France in possession. Charles Bolzinger has come into goal for France.

18:42

Hugo Descat has been the best player on court so far with six goals from six shots - here's one of his early efforts.

18:33 | HALF-TIME

FRANCE 17:13 NORTH MACEDONIA

France were the heavy favourites before this game, but the Macedonians have put up a solid fight throughout the first half - helped by some good saves. But as the half drew on, the French started to score more on the counterattack and in fast breaks and looked better and better. It's not yet a done deal, however ...

18:25

France have found a bit of an edge; a 3:0 run takes them into a 14:11 lead and it's time for Kiril Lazarov's first timeout. North Macedonia have about six minutes to get back on terms before the break.

18:21

Hugo Descat adds his fourth goal and puts France back into the lead.

18:20

The coaches are both looking a little frustrated at the mistakes their players are making. It's 10:10.

18:15

Kiril Lazarov is playing a seven-on-six attack and it's put North Macedonia into a 10:9 lead. Remi Desbonnet makes a potentially important save, and Guillaume Gille calls a timeout.

18:09

Remi Desbonnet looks frustrated as he allows a Nikola Kosteski shot to go past him and the Macedonians to equalise, but Ludovic Fabregas scores quickly on the counterattack. The Olympic champions look to just have the edge but the Macedonians are pressing hard and a good save from Nikola Mitrevski helps things.

18:03

Both teams' first attempts are misses, but Filip Taleski scoring from the field followed by Hugo Descat netting a penalty. And that sparks a flurry of action; Dika Mem, Ivan Djonov, Hugo Descat all netting within seconds of each other.

18:00

And we throw off, with North Macedonia in possession.

17:58

Anthems over ... are you ready?

17:50

The squads are being announced and Nikola Karabatic got a huge roar. If he scores 10 times this tournament he'll become the highest EHF EURO scorer ever.

17:33

Squad lists are out for both teams - you can see the line-ups on the match page here. There are no big surprises. From France's squad of 19, goalkeeper Samir Bellahcene, left back Timothey N'Guessan and Yanis Lenne are sitting this one out - Lenne has been suffering with back problems, so that's no surprise.

North Macedonia will be hoping their captain and goalkeeper Nikola Mitrevski has a good day as a squad with a number of younger players takes to the court.

17:20

The doors have opened and the fans are streaming in; both teams are on court warming up. 40 minutes until throw-off.

Remember, there's lots of ways to follow the EHF EURO: click here for the full list of broadcasters showing matches. If you can't find a broadcaster in your country, head to EHFTV where there will be live streaming of every game with English commentary. Geo-restrictions will apply if a broadcaster in the country where you live has the rights to the tournament.

17:00

Throughout the night our social media channels will be packed with content - in particular, keep an eye on our Instagram stories for exclusive on-court video.

16:45

We have arrived in Dusseldorf and are looking down at the absolutely spectacular view from the media tribune in the MERKUR SPIEL-ARENA. There's lots of fans outside already and the place will be jumping in only an hour or so!

16:20

The EHF EURO live show presented by Trivago is well underway - tune in now and join the fun ahead of the games.

16:10

Here we go! It's less than two hours until throw-off between France and North Macedonia. Right now the Swiss fans are gathering to march to the stadium, ahead of their team's game against Germany at 20:45 CET. 

Stay with us for the rest of the day for full match coverage, clips, photos and analysis!

14:00

The blog is now on a break until we get to the arena in a couple of hours, but don't worry, there's plenty to do in EHF EURO world until then.

• make sure you've made your match predictions in the Home of Handball app
• watch the EHF EURO live show presented by Trivago and hosted by Martin Vilstrup and Victor Tomas, live on Twitch from 15:30 CET
• and head to ehfeuro.eurohandball.com to check out all the coverage so far!

13:38

We're heading into the final build-up to throw-off and the blog will take a break soon before those of us lucky enough to be in Dusseldorf head to the arena.

12:30

Every day our stat-meister Julian Rux will deliver a 'stat of the day' - here's today's, good news for Germany!

12:10

The Macedonian team put together a fun reel of their preparations yesterday, including training and their media call.

11:47

It's impossible to have too many pictures of the magnificent set-up in Dusseldorf. The Swiss like it!

11:23

Their women's team became world champions in December - can the men's team end Nikola Karabatic's career with EHF EURO gold? This is the French squad for these championships.

11:00

Matchday and the teams will be filled with anticipation right now as they prepare to step on to the court for the first time in anger. Yesterday at the media calls EHF journalist Kevin Domas found out how the players are feeling ahead of their first game in a football stadium. Only Kentin Mahé and Andy Schmid have an idea of how it might feel, having played in front of the current world record crowd in Frankfurt 10 years ago!

10:30

There'll be plenty to share today, so we're starting straight away with a look at how the video refereeing system has been enhanced for the Men's EHF EURO 2024. The on-court referees will now have back-up from video referees, to help them make the correct decisions in difficult situations that need checking. Find out more in our feature.

10:00

It's finally here! The biggest European handball championships ever throws off at 18:00 CET this evening in Dusseldorf, and we are here to bring you all the build-up and later on all the match coverage you could need. 

Here to begin the day is the day preview.