Preliminary round wraps up as Sweden and Croatia play for points

GROUP E

Netherlands vs Georgia

Wednesday 21 January, 18:00 CET, live on EHFTV
H2H: 2-0-1

• both teams are out of contention for the main round, but will fight for their first win at the Men’s EHF EURO 2026
• the Netherlands have suffered back-to-back defeats against Sweden and Croatia, the same as Georgia
• out of three previous encounters, the Netherlands and Georgia have met only once at the EHF EURO, in 2022, when the Dutch claimed a 34:29 win
• Rutger ten Velde became the Netherlands’ all-time top scorer with 74 goals, while Dani Baijens is second with 68, both having now surpassed Kay Smits
• Georgia are likely to miss line player Erekle Arsenashvili, who was carried off on a stretcher in the match against Sweden
• meanwhile the Netherlands could be missing Dani Baijens, who left the match against Croatia in the 17th minute with an apparent ankle injury

Sweden vs Croatia

Wednesday 21 January, 20:30 CET, live on EHFTV
H2H: 6-0-6

• both teams have already secured their main round places and will battle for first position in the group, aiming to carry two points forward
• Sweden and Croatia have both defeated Georgia and the Netherlands, with Felix Claar leading Sweden’s scoring chart with 14 goals, while Mario Šoštarić tops Croatia’s list with 13
• Sweden are 42 goals away from reaching 3,000 EHF EURO goals, and a victory would mark their 70th win in 108 matches at the competition
• the first EHF EURO meeting between the sides came in the semi-final of the inaugural edition in 1994, when Sweden won 24:21; out of four EURO meetings in total, each side has claimed two wins
• their most recent encounter in 12 official matches was at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, where Sweden won 38:27

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