Favourites are through, Malta joins the show for the first time

Everything is set for the draw to be held on 4 October in Belgrade as the qualification process for the European Championships finished last weekend. All favourites went through with ease.

No big teams will miss from the stage next January – and some, failing in the qualification for a couple of times in recent years, have also had a successful mission. The extension of the field naturally helped the sides to make their way to Belgrade: the 2016 edition will be the first one in history which will witness 16 men and 12 women teams.

All but one from the eight male qualifying sides managed to reach the Europeans in the past editions: Germany was a regular player (they came up with a 6/6 performance just as the Russians) while the others could join the show in ‘rotation’ based on the changing fortunes. The only exception is Malta which can celebrate a historic first appearance at the Europeans. The Maltese finished on equal points with Poland but as they managed to beat their rival 13-8 in front of an enthusiastic home crowd in Gzira (led 8-2 already at half-time), this result sent them through.

Among the women Turkey is a newcomer to the Europeans while Portugal will return to the elite after 19 years. 2011 World champion and 2010-2012 European runner-up Greece was the only team with a clean sheet – they scored 122 goals in six games en route.

The draw is due this Sunday in Belgrade, at the City Hall.

European Championships, Qualifications, Round II

Group E (Netanya)

1. Netherlands 16, 2. Georgia 13, 3. Lithuania 3, 4. Israel 3

Group F (Chalons-en-Champagne)

1. France 15, 2. Slovakia 15, 3. Belarus 4, 4. Ukraine 1

Group G (Gzira)

1. Germany 18, 2. Malta 9, 3. Poland 9, 4. Switzerland 0

Group H (Astrakhan)

1. Russia 18, 2. Turkey 12, 3. Portugal 6, 7. Latvia 0

First two ranked teams have qualified from each group.

Women

Group C (Krefeld)

1. Germany 15, 3. France 15, 3. Turkey 6, 4. Israel 0

Group D (Rio Maior)

1. Greece 18, 2. Portugal 12, 3. Croatia 6, 4. Switzerland 0

First three ranked teams from both groups qualified.

Teams waiting for the draw

Men

From 2014: Serbia (also as host), Hungary, Italy, Montenegro, Croatia, Greece, Spain, Romania

From the qualifications: Netherlands, France, Germany, Russia, Georgia, Slovakia, Malta, Turkey

Women

From 2014: Spain, Netherlands, Hungary, Italy, Russia

From the qualifications: Germany, Greece, France, Portugal, Turkey, Croatia

Host: Serbia