2012 European Men's Handball Championship qualification

This article describes the qualification for the 2012 European Men's Handball Championship.

Qualification system

Seeding

The draw for the qualification round will be held on the 31st of January 2010 at the EHF headquarters, in Vienna. Serbia (host nation), and France (defending champion), are directly qualified. 39 teams (including Serbia) have registered for participation. 37 teams will compete for 14 places at the final tournament in 2 distinct Qualification Phases. In each phase, the teams were divided into several pots according to their positions in the EHF National Team Ranking list valid for the EHF EURO 2012 Qualification in Serbia.

Seeding for Qualification Phase 1

Pot 1	Pot 2	Pot 3	Pot 4
Latvia Israel Estonia	Italy 2 teams between: Belgium Bulgaria Cyprus	Finland Turkey 1 team between: Belgium Bulgaria Cyprus	Luxembourg Georgia Great Britain

Seeding for Qualification Phase 2

The seedings were completely known after the playing of the final week-end of the 2010 European Men's Handball Championship.

Pot 1	Pot 2	Pot 3	Pot 4
Croatia Denmark Poland Germany Norway Sweden Hungary	Spain Iceland Czech Republic Slovenia Russia Slovakia North Macedonia	Austria Montenegro Belarus Ukraine Romania Bosnia and Herzegovina Netherlands	Portugal Switzerland Greece Lithuania Estonia Latvia Israel

Playing dates

• Qualification Phase 1:

Two options were available:

• Tournaments: 11–13 June 2010
• Home and away round robin: 14/15 April 2010, 17/18 April 2010, 9/10 June 2010, 12/13 June 2010, 16/17 June 2010, 19/20 June 2010

Tiebreakers

If two or more teams are equal on points on completion of the group matches, the following criteria are applied to determine the rankings.

1. Higher number of points obtained in the group matches played among the teams in question.
2. Superior goal difference from the group matches played among the teams in question.
3. Higher number of goals scored in the group matches played among the teams in question.
4. If, after applying criteria 1) to 3) to several teams, two or more teams still have an equal ranking, the criteria 1) to 3) will be reapplied to determine the ranking of these teams. If this procedure does not lead to a decision, criteria 5), 6) and 7) will apply.
5. Superior goal difference from all group matches played.
6. Higher number of goals scored in all group matches played.
7. Drawing of lots.

Qualification Phase 1

The participating teams were the 12 lowest ranked according to the EHF National Team Ranking list valid for the EHF EURO 2012 Qualification in Serbia.
They were: Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, Great Britain, Georgia, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Luxembourg and Turkey.
The 12 teams divided into 3 groups, with the 3 winners advancing to the Qualification Phase 2.

Draw procedure

• Step 1: 2 teams from Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus were drawn to pot 2. The remaining team went to pot 3 (the balls were not opened).
• Step 2: 3 teams of pot 1 to row 1
• Step 3: 3 teams of pot 2 to row 2
• Step 4: 3 teams of pot 3 to row 3
• Step 5: 3 teams of pot 4 to row 4

Group 1

10 June 2010 14:30 BST (UTC+01)	Estonia	31 – 18	Bulgaria	Crystal Palace National Sports Centre, London Attendance: 200 Referees: Mäkinen, Jonsson (SWE)
	Patrail 7	(16 – 9)	Mihailov 5
	3× 3×	Report	2× 4×

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10 June 2010 18:30 BST (UTC+01)	Cyprus	24 – 16	Great Britain	Crystal Palace National Sports Centre, London Attendance: 300 Referees: Leyder, Jung (LUX)
	Papakyprianou 9	(7 – 9)	Hawkins, Larsson 4
	3× 5×	Report	3× 7×

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11 June 2010 14:30 BST (UTC+01)	Bulgaria	29 – 29	Cyprus	Crystal Palace National Sports Centre, London Attendance: 100 Referees: Leyder, Jung (LUX)
	Borisov, Mihailov 6	(14 – 14)	Demosthenous, Efstathiadis, Papakyprianou 5
	3× 5×	Report	3× 5×

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11 June 2010 18:30 BST (UTC+01)	Great Britain	26 – 35	Estonia	Crystal Palace National Sports Centre, London Attendance: 400 Referees: Mäkinen, Jonsson (SWE)
	Mohr 11	(13 – 18)	Patrail 7
	3× 6× 1×	Report	3× 2×

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12 June 2010 12:00 BST (UTC+01)	Estonia	34 – 28	Cyprus	Crystal Palace National Sports Centre, London Attendance: 300 Referees: Mäkinen, Jonsson (SWE)
	Patrail 9	(18 – 13)	Papakyprianou 11
	2× 3×	Report	4× 3×

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12 June 2010 15:30 BST (UTC+01)	Bulgaria	32 – 33	Great Britain	Crystal Palace National Sports Centre, London Attendance: 600 Referees: Leyder, Jung (LUX)
	Petkov 10	(16 – 14)	Larsson 13
	3× 6× 1×	Report	3× 2× 1×

Group 2

11 June 2010 15:30 UTC+04	Latvia	24 – 26	Finland	Tbilisi Sports Palace, Tbilisi Attendance: 300 Referees: Sivak, Dvorsky (SVK)
	Jurdz 5	(11 – 11)	Rönnberg, Viljanen 6
	4× 7×	Report	2× 6×

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11 June 2010 18:00 UTC+04	Italy	30 – 25	Georgia	Tbilisi Sports Palace, Tbilisi Attendance: 400 Referees: Sitsi, Heinla (EST)
	Radovic 7	(10 – 10)	Rusia 8
	3× 3×	Report	4× 4×

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12 June 2010 15:00 UTC+04	Finland	34 – 35	Italy	Tbilisi Sports Palace, Tbilisi Attendance: 200 Referees: Sivak, Dvorsky (SVK)
	Tamminen 13	(18 – 19)	Skatar 11
	3× 8× 2×	Report	3× 7× 1×

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12 June 2010 17:00 UTC+04	Georgia	21 – 22	Latvia	Tbilisi Sports Palace, Tbilisi Attendance: 400 Referees: Sitsi, Heinla (EST)
	Datukashvili 8	(11 – 11)	Versakovs 9
	3× 5×	Report	3× 6×

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13 June 2010 15:00 UTC+04	Latvia	36 – 32	Italy	Tbilisi Sports Palace, Tbilisi Attendance: 100 Referees: Sitsi, Heinla (EST)
	Jurdz 6	(19–16)	Skatar, Tumbarello 7
	3× 8× 1×	Report	3× 8× 2×

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13 June 2010 17:00 UTC+04	Finland	26 – 21	Georgia	Tbilisi Sports Palace, Tbilisi Attendance: 400 Referees: Sivak, Dvorsky (SVK)
	Rönnberg 8	(12–19)	Mskhvildze 8
	2× 11× 2×	Report	3× 8× 1×

Group 3

11 June 2010 12:30 CEST (UTC+02)	Israel	32 – 24	Turkey	Centre National Sportif d'Coque, Luxembourg Referees: Pavicevic, Vujisic (MNE)
	Pomeranz 10	(14 – 14)	Döne, Özbahar 5
	3× 4×	Report	3× 5× 1×

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11 June 2010 14:30 CEST (UTC+02)	Belgium	29 – 25	Luxembourg	Centre National Sportif d'Coque, Luxembourg Attendance: 500 Referees: Nikolovski, Kolevski (MKD)
	Verhoeven 9	(15 – 12)	Decker 10
	3× 3×	Report	3× 4×

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12 June 2010 19:30 CEST (UTC+02)	Luxembourg	24 – 29	Israel	Centre National Sportif d'Coque, Luxembourg Attendance: 500 Referees: Nikolovski, Kolevski (MKD)
	Sarac 7	(13 – 14)	Pomeranz 6
	3× 5×	Report	3× 7×

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12 June 2010 21:30 CEST (UTC+02)	Turkey	32 – 28	Belgium	Centre National Sportif d'Coque, Luxembourg Attendance: 100 Referees: Pavicevic, Vujisic (MNE)
	Döne 11	(15–14)	Verhoeven 8
	3× 2×	Report	3× 6×

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13 June 2010 18:00 CEST (UTC+02)	Turkey	32 – 26	Luxembourg	Centre National Sportif d'Coque, Luxembourg Attendance: 200 Referees: Nikolovski, Kolevski (MKD)
	Döne 8	(15–10)	Poeckes 8
	3× 9×	Report	3× 1×

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13 June 2010 20:00 CEST (UTC+02)	Israel	39 – 32	Belgium	Centre National Sportif d'Coque, Luxembourg Attendance: 100 Referees: Pavicevic, Vujisic (MNE)
	Halifi 16	(21–16)	Mathijs, Querimi, Van Wesemael 5
	3× 6×	Report	3× 4×

Qualification Phase 2

There will be 28 teams participating at this phase. They will be drawn into 7 groups of 4 teams with the first 2 in each group qualifying for the 2012 European Men's Handball Championship. The teams participating at this phase are:

• 14 teams qualified from 2010 European Men's Handball Championship: Croatia, Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Spain, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Norway, Poland, Slovenia, Russia, Sweden, Ukraine.
• 7 group winners from the Qualification Round from the 2011 World Men's Handball Championship European qualification: Greece, Lithuania, Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Switzerland, Slovakia.
• 4 additional teams according to the EHF National Team Ranking list valid for the EHF EURO 2012 Qualification in Serbia: North Macedonia, Montenegro, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
• 3 winners of the Qualification Phase 1: Estonia, Israel, Latvia

Group 1

27 October 2010 17:15	North Macedonia	30 – 25	Estonia	SRC Kale, Skopje Attendance: 1,500 Referees: Karlubik, Struhar (SVK)
	Lazarov 7	(16–10)	Pinnonen 7
	3× 6×	Report	3× 5×

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28 October 2010 18:00	Hungary	26 – 17	Bosnia and Herzegovina	Arena Savaria, Szombathely Attendance: 2,000 Referees: Horacek, Novotny (CZE)
	Ilyés, Mocsai 5	(10–9)	Jaskic 6
	3× 2×	Report	3× 2×

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31 October 2010 17:45	Estonia	19 – 31	Hungary	Mesikäpa Hall, Põlva Attendance: 800 Referees: Kouz, Zhoba (UKR)
	Järve, Patrail 4	(9–14)	Harsanyi 8
	3× 4×	Report	2× 7×

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31 October 2010 20:00	Bosnia and Herzegovina	28 – 28	North Macedonia	Dvorana Mirza Delibašić, Sarajevo Attendance: 3,000 Referees: Dinu, Din (ROU)
	Doborac, Terzic 6	(15–13)	Alusovski 9
	3× 2× 1×	Report	3× 3×

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9-10 March 2011	North Macedonia	v	Hungary

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9-10 March 2011	Estonia	v	Bosnia and Herzegovina

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12-13 March 2011	Hungary	v	North Macedonia

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12-13 March 2011	Bosnia and Herzegovina	v	Estonia

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8-9 June 2011	Bosnia and Herzegovina	v	Hungary

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8-9 June 2011	Estonia	v	North Macedonia

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11-12 June 2011	Hungary	v	Estonia

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11-12 June 2011	North Macedonia	v	Bosnia and Herzegovina

Group 2

27 October 2010 20:30	Spain	33 – 17	Lithuania	Pabellon Lalín Arena, Lalín Attendance: 2,500 Referees: Badura, Ondogrecula (SVK)
	Romero 7	(17–5)	Grosas, Svedas 3
	2× 3×	Report	3× 4×

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28 October 2010 20:00	Croatia	34 – 22	Romania	Skolska Sportska Dvorana, Karlovac Attendance: 2,800 Referees: Brunovsky, Canda (SVK)
	Kopljar 7	(16–11)	Ghionea 7
	3× 1×	Report	3× 1×

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31 October 2010 18:00	Lithuania	19 – 21	Croatia	Siemens Arena, Vilnius Attendance: 1,600 Referees: Abrahamsen, Kristiansen (NOR)
	Malasinskas 4	(10–8)	Zrnić 5
	2× 4×	Report	3× 3×

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31 October 2010 18:00	Romania	20 – 35	Spain	Sala Sporturilor Antonio Alexe, Oradea Attendance: 2,000 Referees: Johanssen, Kliko (SWE)
	Stamate 5	(7–18)	Fernandez 5
	3× 3×	Report	3× 3×

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9-10 March 2011	Spain	v	Croatia

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9-10 March 2011	Lithuania	v	Romania

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12-13 March 2011	Croatia	v	Spain

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12-13 March 2011	Romania	v	Lithuania

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8-9 June 2011	Romania	v	Croatia

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8-9 June 2011	Lithuania	v	Spain

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11-12 June 2011	Croatia	v	Lithuania

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11-12 June 2011	Spain	v	Romania

Group 3

27 October 2010 20:15	Slovenia	34 – 31	Portugal	Zlatorog Arena, Celje Attendance: 1,200 Referees: Zotin, Volodkov (RUS)
	Gajič, Natek 9	(17–14)	Solha 7
	3× 6×	Report	3× 4×

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28 October 2010 17:00	Poland	23 – 15	Ukraine	Torwar Hall, Warsaw Attendance: 4,800 Referees: Nikolic, Stojkovic (SRB)
	three players 3	(11–7)	Onufryienko, Ostroushko 4
	3× 3×	Report	3× 4×

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31 October 2010 17:00	Portugal	27 – 27	Poland	Portimão Arena, Portimão Attendance: 1,500 Referees: Nielsen, Lorentzen (DEN)
	Solha 10	(17–12)	Jurecki 5
	2× 3×	Report	3× 3×

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31 October 2010 17:00	Ukraine	25 – 31	Slovenia	Citysporthall, Zaporizhia Attendance: 2,000 Referees: Herczeg, Südi (HUN)
	Shevelev 6	(15–17)	Gajic 11
	3× 4×	Report	3× 5×

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9-10 March 2011	Slovenia	v	Poland

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9 March 2011 19:00	Portugal	v	Ukraine	Lamego Municipal Hall, Lamego

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12 March 2011	Poland	v	Slovenia

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12-13 March 2011	Ukraine	v	Portugal

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8-9 June 2011	Ukraine	v	Poland

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8-9 June 2011	Portugal	v	Slovenia

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11-12 June 2011	Poland	v	Portugal

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11-12 June 2011	Slovenia	v	Ukraine

Group 4

27 October 2010 18:00	Slovakia	38 – 24	Israel	MŠK Považská Bystrica, Považská Bystrica Attendance: 1,400 Referees: Chaskis, Tsakonas (GRE)
	Straňovský 7	(20–14)	Avraham 9
	3× 4×	Report	3× 4×

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28 October 2010 19:15	Sweden	30 – 27	Montenegro	Kristianstad Arena, Kristianstad Attendance: 4,500 Referees: Kohout, Novak (CZE)
	Ekberg 8	(15–17)	Mrvaljević 6
	3× 4×	Report	3× 4×

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31 October 2010 18:00	Montenegro	25 – 35	Slovakia	Bar Attendance: 1,700 Referees: Geipel, Helbig (GER)
	Rakcevic, Roganovic 5	(13–19)	Stranovsky 9
	3× 5×	Report	3× 5×

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31 October 2010 19:30	Israel	28 – 32	Sweden	Maccabi House Arena, Rishon LeZion Attendance: 700 Referees: Chernega, Liudovyk
	Pomeranz 8	(13–15)	Petersen 8
	3× 4× 1×	Report	2× 10×

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9-10 March 2011	Slovakia	v	Sweden

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9-10 March 2011	Israel	v	Montenegro

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12-13 March 2011	Sweden	v	Slovakia

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12-13 March 2011	Montenegro	v	Israel

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8-9 June 2011	Montenegro	v	Sweden

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8-9 June 2011	Israel	v	Slovakia

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11-12 June 2011	Sweden	v	Israel

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11-12 June 2011	Slovakia	v	Montenegro

Group 5

27 October 2010 18:15	Germany	26 – 26	Austria	EWS-Arena, Göppingen Attendance: 5,200 Referees: Andersen, Sodal (NOR)
	Pfahl 7	(6–14)	Szilágyi 6
	3× 2×	Report	3× 7× 1×

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27 October 2010 19:40	Iceland	28 – 26	Latvia	Laugardalshöll, Reykjavik Attendance: 2,300 Referees: Buache, Meyer (SUI)
	Stefánsson 6	(14–13)	Vadzitis, Jurdžs 6
	3× 4×	Report	3× 7× 1×

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30 October 2010 20:20	Austria	28 – 23	Iceland	Arena Nova, Wiener Neustadt Attendance: 3,000 Referees: Muro San Jose, Rodriguez Murcia (ESP)
	Szilagyi 7	(12–11)	Stefánsson 11
	3× 8×	Report	3× 6×

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31 October 2010 14:05	Latvia	18 – 36	Germany	Sports Centre Dobele, Dobele Attendance: 1,500 Referees: Samuelsen, Hansen (FRO)
	Lilienfelds, Straume 5	(8–17)	four players 6
	2× 3×	Report	3× 3×

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9-10 March 2011	Iceland	v	Germany

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9-10 March 2011	Latvia	v	Austria

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12-13 March 2011	Germany	v	Iceland

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12-13 March 2011	Austria	v	Latvia

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8-9 June 2011	Austria	v	Germany

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8-9 June 2011	Latvia	v	Iceland

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11-12 June 2011	Germany	v	Latvia

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11-12 June 2011	Iceland	v	Austria

Group 6

27 October 2010 19:15	Norway	35 – 30	Netherlands	Haukelandshallen, Bergen Attendance: 3,700 Referees: Rutkovskis, Dzerve (LAT)
	Strand 9	(17–15)	four players 5
	2× 1×	Report	2× 4×

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27 October 2010 20:10	Czech Republic	32 – 20	Greece	Sporthalle Novesta, Zlin Attendance: 1,800 Referees: Stenrand, Birch (DEN)
	Jicha 8	(14–8)	Chalkidis, Vaslikais 4
	3× 4×	Report	3× 3×

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30 October 2010 19:00	Netherlands	25 – 33	Czech Republic	Topsportcentrum Almere, Almere Attendance: 1,000 Referees: Schaller, Wutzler (GER)
	Konitz, Sluijters 7	(14–18)	Jicha 9
	3× 7×	Report	2× 4×

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31 October 2010 15:00	Greece	25 – 32	Norway	Xanthi Arena, Xanthi Attendance: 1,200 Referees: Jurinovic, Mrvica (CRO)
	Riganas 5	(10–17)	Tvedten 11
	2× 1×	Report	3× 2×

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9-10 March 2011	Czech Republic	v	Norway

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9-10 March 2011	Greece	v	Netherlands

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12-13 March 2011	Norway	v	Czech Republic

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12-13 March 2011	Netherlands	v	Greece

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8-9 June 2011	Netherlands	v	Norway

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8-9 June 2011	Greece	v	Czech Republic

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11-12 June 2011	Norway	v	Greece

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11-12 June 2011	Czech Republic	v	Netherlands

Group 7

27 October 2010 19:00	Russia	36 – 34	Switzerland	Sport Hall "Olimpiyskiy" Chekhov, Chekhov Attendance: 1,500 Referees: Baranowski, Lemanowicz (POL)
	Igropulo 10	(15–14)	Liniger 12
	3× 3×	Report	3× 7×

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27 October 2010 20:15	Denmark	41 – 33	Belarus	Gigantium, Aalborg Attendance: 4,100 Referees: Cvetko, Kavalar (SLO)
	Hansen 10	(20–13)	Pukhouski 9
	3× 3×	Report	3× 3×

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31 October 2010 14:00	Switzerland	25 – 36	Denmark	Eulachhalle, Winterthur Attendance: 2,000 Referees: Raluy Lopez, Sabroso Ramirez (ESP)
	Schmid 6	(14–19)	four players 5
	3× 4×	Report	3× 3×

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31 October 2010 15:00	Belarus	32 – 39	Russia	Sportshall Victoria, Brest Attendance: 3,500 Referees: Dobrovits, Tajok (HUN)
	Baranau, Rutenka 7	(18–9)	Igropulo, Ivanov 6
	3× 2×	Report	3× 7×

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9-10 March 2011	Russia	v	Denmark

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9-10 March 2011	Switzerland	v	Belarus

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12-13 March 2011	Denmark	v	Russia

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12-13 March 2011	Belarus	v	Switzerland

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8-9 June 2011	Belarus	v	Denmark

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8-9 June 2011	Switzerland	v	Russia

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11-12 June 2011	Denmark	v	Switzerland

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11-12 June 2011	Russia	v	Belarus