The 2008 EHF European Women's Handball Championship was held in the Republic of Macedonia from 2–14 December, it was won by Norway after beating Spain 34–21 in the final match.
Venues Two Macedonian cities have been selected as hosts for the 2008 Championship:
Skopje Ohrid Boris Trajkovski Sports ArenaCapacity: 10,000 Biljanini Izvori Sports HallCapacity: 5,000
Qualification In total, 16 national teams qualified for the final tournament:
Host Country (3) :1998, 2000, 2006
Qualified from the 2006 European Championship (7) :1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006 (Defending Champions) (7) :1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006 (4) :2000, 2002, 2004, 2006 (7) :1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006 (7) :1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006
Qualified from play-offsMatch results
Squads
Each nation had to submit an initial squad of 28 players, 12 of them became reserves when the final squad of 16 players was announced on 1 December 2008.
Seeding The draw for the preliminary round groups took place on 20 July 2008, in Ohrid.
Pot 1Pot 2Pot 3Pot 4
Format Preliminary Round: 16 teams are divided into four groups. They play each other in a single round robin system, so each team plays three matches. A win is worth two points, while a draw is worth one point. The top three teams from each group advance to the Main Round. Main Round: 12 teams are divided in two groups. They play against the teams they didn't play in the preliminary round, so each team plays 3 matches. All points from the preliminary round, except the points gained against the 4th place team in the preliminary group, are carried forward into the Main Round. Same round robin rules apply as in the preliminary round. Top 2 teams from each group advance to the semifinals, while the third placed team from each group advances to the 5th-6th Place Play-off. Final Round: 6 teams play in the final weekend of the championships. 3rd place teams from the Main Round play in the 5th-6th Place Play-off. Other teams play in the semifinals. Losers of the semifinals advance to the 3rd-4th Place Play-off, and winners advance to the Final.
Preliminary round All times are local (UTC+1).
Group A
Group B
Group C
Group D
Main round Group I
Group II
Final round Bracket
Fifth place game
Semifinals
Third place game
Final
Ranking and statistics
Final ranking 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Source: EuroHandball.com
2008 Women's European Champions Norway4th title
Team roster Ragnhild Aamodt, Isabel Blanco, Karoline Dyhre Breivang, Marit Malm Frafjord, Kari Aalvik Grimsbø, Katrine Lunde Haraldsen, Camilla Herrem, Kari Mette Johansen, Tine Kristiansen, Tonje Larsen, Heidi Løke, Kristine Lunde, Tonje Nøstvold, Terese Pedersen, Linn-Kristin Riegelhuth and Linn Jørum Sulland. Head coach: Marit Breivik.
All-Star Team Goalkeeper: Left wing: Left back: Pivot: Centre back: Right back: Right wing: Best defence player: Most valuable player: Chosen by team officials and EHF experts: EHF-Euro.com
Top goalscorers RankNameTeamGoalsShots% 1 Linn-Kristin Riegelhuth 51 77 66% 2 Grit Jurack 46 88 52% 3 Marta Mangué 43 84 51% 4 Anita Görbicz 39 79 49% 5 Natalija Todorovska 38 55 69% 6 Andrea Penezić 37 69 54% Valentina Ardean-Elisei 60 62% 8 Dijana Golubić 33 53 62% Julija Portjanko 71 46% 10 Kristina Franić 32 50 64% Source: EHF
Top goalkeepers (minimum 20% of total shots received by team) RankNameTeam%SavesShots 1 Katrine Lunde Haraldsen 47 88 187 2 Clara Woltering 44 79 1783 Madeleine Grundström 43 74 172Anna Sedoykina 72 166 5 Inna Suslina 41 62 151 6 Amandine Leynaud 38 41 109 7 Luminiţa Dinu 37 98 2658 Jelena Grubišić 36 68 189Iryna Honcharova 42 117Terese Pedersen 29 80 Source: EHF-Euro.com
Notes
External links European Handball Federation 8th Women's Handball European Championship 2008 in the Republic of Macedonia EHF Women's EURO 2008