Netherlands (NED)

Until 2020, the Netherlands never played a Men’s EHF EURO final tournament. In 2024, they are a force to be reckoned with. EHF EURO 2024 marks the third straight participation for the Dutch team, who qualified in style by winning their group ahead of Croatia. The Netherlands remained unbeaten in the two qualifiers against the Balkan powerhouse, including a 32:27 home win. But in the same qualifying campaign, the team of head coach Staffan Olsson also showed they are still vulnerable at times, too.

Apart from a brief appearance at the 1961 World Championship, the Netherlands failed to make it to any major event for decades. But a few years after the women’s national team started to make a name for themselves internationally, the men in orange followed suit. Their debut EHF EURO participation in 2020 stranded in the preliminary round, but two years later they made the headlines by downing co-hosts Hungary in their opening match and silencing the 20,022-capacity crowd in the MVM Dome in Budapest. The Netherlands ultimately came up short against the likes of Denmark and France in the main round, but it was clear the team had made another step in their rapid progression.

“We can cause the top nations troubles, but we still have to take one or two more steps to become really part of the international top ourselves,” said Olsson, who also led the Netherlands to their first World Championship berth in over six decades in 2023. At EHF EURO 2024, the coach aims for that next step with a squad that includes Paris Saint-Germain HB star Luc Steins alongside a range of Bundesliga players like goalkeeper Bart Ravensbergen, Dani Baijens and Bobby Schagen. However they will miss Kay Smits - the Machineseeker EHF Champions League winner is sidelined with a heart condition.