Romania (ROU)

After missing the top 10 and finishing 12th at both the Women’s EHF EURO 2020 and EHF EURO 2022, perennial contenders Romania are back in the European premium competition with a few biggest stars no longer in the team.

The all-time top scorer of the EHF EURO, Cristina Neagu, said her goodbye to the national team after the 2023 IHF Women’s World Championship, with line player Crina Pintea and centre back Eliza Buceschi following suit.

That means coach Florentin Pera will be left without half of the surefire starters of his squad, but can still count on the experienced EHF Champions League players such as Sorina Grozav, the daughter of the retired Romanian star and Champions League winner Mariana Tîrcă, Bianca Bazaliu and Lorena Ostase as well as the young gun Alicia Gogîrlă.

On paper, they bring a less-experienced squad to a well-balanced group in Debrecen, together with Czechia, Montenegro and Serbia, which promises uncertainty to the very end of the preliminary round.

While the qualifiers for the EHF EURO went without a hitch, with six wins in six matches against Croatia, Greece and Bosnia and Herzegovina, Romania had a wake-up call in the friendly Carpathian Trophy in late October, when they conceded two losses, 27:36 against Switzerland and 30:33 against Brazil.

The path to the main round will be as challenging for Romania as it will be for the remaining three teams in group B. It is left to be seen what coach Pera prepared for their 2024 campaign.