18:39 | HALF-TIME
We've had a bit of an up-and-down half in Berlin. Young Swiss line player Lukas Laube has netted six times, and the evergreen Andy Schmid has contributed six assists as Switzerland shrug off their first-round defeat to Germany and put up a decent contest against France. Guillaume Gille has largely kept Nikola Karabatic and Dylan Nahi on the bench so far and neither of his goalkeepers have had a good day, and so the score has remained level throughout.
Romania had a really good start, but, helped by the type of performance you usually expect from Gonzalo Perez de Vargas (seven saves, 37 per cent), Spain have stretched ahead. Aleix Gómez has been on court throughout, playing a key role as the record medal-winners look for their first win.
Group C remains close! Iceland have had a better half but there's really nothing in it - an even performance from Viktor Hallgrímsson and Nebojsa Simic. However, Iceland's players have been rotated much more than Montenegro's: will Montenegro run out of steam later on?
18:27
Montenegro have rallied a little and not allowed Iceland to go further ahead, but - led by a four-goal outing in 20 minutes from line player Elliði Viðarsson - this is better from the men in white.
Spain have decided enough is enough, and are suddenly 13:8 ahead as Gonzalo Perez de Vargas clicks into gear. Romania have conceded three penalties and when you have Aleix Gómez to score them, that's not helpful.
Switzerland have all the support from the largely German crowd and have used it to go up 12:11, although you get the sense that France have another gear yet. The question is why they haven't used it.
18:17
The big block of Swiss fans in Berlin are making a lot of noise and as Nikola Portner saves Hugo Descat's penalty a big roar goes up. Soon after, Descat puts France up 7:6 on a fastbreak.
In Mannheim, Aleix Gómez's equalising penalty for 7:7 is his 300th goal for the national team. Jorge Maqueda has just come on to court too, playing in his 200th game for Spain. Romania are troubling Spain a bit, and have led several times.
In Munich, Iceland have established an 8:5 lead, after 10 minutes of very close play.
18:08
After a horrific first game, Gonzalo Perez de Vargas has already made two saves against Romania, shrugging off the 55 minutes with no saves on Friday against Croatia. Romania, however, have just gone up 4:3.
Montenegro and Iceland looks like being a close one - 3:3 after seven minutes. Meanwhile, France lead Switzerland 4:3.
18:03
On the counterattack, Milos Vujovic shoots and whacks Viktor Hallgrímsson in the face - it's a two-minute suspension and the Icelandic keeper is up quickly. It's 0:0 with two shot-stoppers stopping shots.
Spain's Agustín Casado got the 2022 silver medallists on the board early, while in Berlin it's 1:1 at the moment between Switzerland and France.
18:00
The second round in groups A, B and C is throwing off!
17:52
Kentin Mahé, Yannis Lenne and Charles Bolzinger are sitting the match out for France - clearly Lenne is still not fit after suffering with back problems for some time.
17:45
Here we go - 15 minutes until throw-off, the teams are warmed up and the fans too with the fan songs played in each arena.
17:30
Austria are ready for their game with Croatia!
17:20
The fan support here in Germany has been immense, and there'll definitely be lots of Croatian support as they take on Austria later.
17:10
Although we've talked a lot about the young players starring in this tournament there are also plenty of more experienced heads on court, and Switzerland vs France features two of the best: Andy Schmid and Nikola Karabatic, both playing their final EHF EUROs. Here they are, head-to-head.
16:55
We're just over an hour away from throw-off for today's games. Will France book a main round slot tonight?
16:40
A few fans have arrived for the early warm-ups in Berlin, and as the first Swiss players arrive there's a shout of "Hop Schwizz!"
Group A are in the house.
16:25
News from the Norwegian camp: right back Magnus Rød broke his foot in yesterday's game against the Faroe Islands, and is out for the rest of the tournament. Kent Robin Tønnesen will travel to Hamburg if Norway make it to the main round and for tomorrow Norway have Harald Reinkind and Gabriel Setterblom in this position.
16:10
Iceland drew their first match and must now beat Montenegro to keep their chances of progressing to the main round in their hands. They had a chilled day of training and media calls yesterday.
15:30
Switzerland face the might of Olympic champions France at 18:00 CET tonight, and they’ve been looking ahead to that match. For those who speak a bit of German (and/or French!) this analysis is very interesting.
14:15
Spain face a must-win game against Romania tonight, after their sensational loss to Croatia on Friday. The nine-time EHF EURO medallists will not want to go home on Tuesday.
They've been for a walk before some video analysis, and we should expect to see 'Los Hispanos' coming out hot at 18:00 CET.
The blog is now having a break; we'll be back a little later and will of course continue to bring you the build-up before today's games.
14:00
Extraordinary statistics from Denmark's Michael Damgaard last night - only 19 minutes on court, and yet he was the top scorer against Greece and also Grundfos Player of the Match!
13:48
After the second round of groups D, E and F last night, we can update you on the standings in each group.
13:20
We're into the second round of preliminary round matches, and some teams are already fighting to stay in the competition while others are able to relax more. Why? Because of the first-round results.
In this fascinating long read - perfect for a damp Sunday afternoon in January - EHF journalist Courtney Gahan goes into the importance of winning the first game in a big tournament.
