Faroe Islands (FAR)

The Faroe Islands impressed everyone when they managed to qualify for their first ever EHF EURO. Their journey has not been an easy one, as they had to get past Austria, Romania and Ukraine in order to reach the final tournament in Germany. Despite only grabbing four points, the Faroese team ranked among the best third-placed teams in the competition, due to impressive home wins against Romania (28:26) and Ukraine (33:26).

Unlike other teams, the Faroe Islands cannot rely solely on experienced players. Their squad includes young and skilled players that were key assets in the junior competitions, but also proved capable of rising to the occasion at the senior national team level. Left back Óli Mittún, centre back Elias Ellefsen á Skipagøtu and right wing Hákun West av Teigum are definitely some of the players to watch in January. Skipagøtu and av Teigum both saw their dreams come true when they signed with German clubs (THW Kiel and Füchse Berlin, respectively) and look forward to making history with Faroe Islands.

However, this achievement wouldn’t have been possible without great leadership. The addition of Peter Bredsdorff-Larsen to the team was a success, as the Danish head coach accomplished one of the biggest wishes of the Faroese fans with the qualification for EHF EURO 2024. Prior to joining the Faroe Islands, one of Larsen’s biggest professional achievements was winning gold at EHF EURO 2008 with Denmark, as an assistant coach.