The 2006 EHF European Women's Handball Championship was held in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

from 7 to 17 December. It was won by

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

after beating

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27–24 in the final match. This championship was also the European qualifying event for 2008 Olympics, and Norway earned a spot at the 2008 Games for being the European champion. If Norway also becomes the 2007 World champion, the 2nd place team will qualify for the Olympics. In addition, the 1 or 2 (if Europe finishes in the top 2 continents at the world championship) best ranked teams in this championship, which are outside top 7 at the world championship, will participate at the Olympic qualifying tournament.

Venues

The European Championships will be held in the following cities: * Skövde, Skövde Arena (Preliminary Group A) *

Malmö Malmö is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, sixth-largest city in Nordic countries, the Nordic region. Located on ...

, Baltiska Hallen (Preliminary Group D) *

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

, Scandinavium (Preliminary Group B, Main Group 1) *

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

, Hovet (Preliminary Group C, Main Group 2, Final Round)

Qualification

Note: Bold indicates champion for that year. ''Italic'' indicates host for that year.

Draw

The draw was held on 6 July 2006 in

Competition 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.

Squads

Preliminary round

Group A

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Group B

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Group C

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Group D

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Main round

Group I

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Group II

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Knockout stage

Bracket

Fifth place game

Semifinals

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Third place game

Final

Ranking and statistics

Final ranking

All-Star team

*Goalkeeper: *Left wing: *Left back: *Pivot: *Centre back: *Right back: *Right wing: *Best defense player: *

Most valuable player In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...

: Source
EHF

Top goalscorers

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EHF
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Top goalkeepers

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EHF
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References

{{European Handball Championship European Women's Handball Championship International handball competitions hosted by Sweden 2006 in Swedish women's sport Women's handball in Sweden European Women's Handball Championship December 2006 sports events in Europe International sports competitions in Stockholm International sports competitions in Malmö International sports competitions in Gothenburg Sports competitions in Skövde 2000s in Stockholm 2000s in Gothenburg 2000s in Malmö