Czechia (CZE)

A new era in Czech handball began in 2022 when Xavier Sabaté took over the national team; this is his first major tournament at the Czech helm. The Spaniard's tenure began with a narrow defeat in the double-header against North Macedonia for a place at the 2023 IHF Men's World Championship, but the Czechs have quickly bounced back and are looking towards their fourth consecutive European championship and their 12th appearance in total.

The 47-year-old led the national team to the EHF EURO 2024 final tournament in Germany by finishing second in group 3 of the qualifiers, just behind Iceland with whom the Czechs finished on equal points with only one loss.

Sabaté was tasked with conducting an inevitable generational change and in the past couple of years, the talented left back Matej Klima has established himself as one of the new forces in the squad with the 24-year-old being the top scorer during the EHF EURO 2024 qualifiers. However, the team is still supported by the experienced THW Kiel goalkeeper Tomas Mrkva and the likes of Jakub Hrstka as well as Tomas Babak.

The Czechs are placed in group F at the EHF EURO 2024 alongside world champions Denmark, the ambitious Portugal and debutants Greece. With the squad disappointed by the latest EHF EURO appearance in 2022 when they finished in 13th place, they are motivated to leave a much better impression under Sabaté.

The Spaniard has instilled confidence among the squad and is building a new national team to bring smiles to the Czech fans for years to come. The Czechs' best ranking at a single EHF EURO tournament remains the record sixth place in 2018.