Seven young players to watch at the EHF EURO 2024

So, who can we expect to stand out in this age group? With the EHF’s Respect Your Talent programme up and running since 2019, many of the players who will be eligible for the EHF EURO 2024 best young player award have been on the radar for some time in an even more prominent way than their predecessors.

Here, we take a look at the players expected to have an important role for their sides at the EHF EURO 2024. Although the majority of the young players now starring for their national teams have come through the RYT programme, and this list has focused on those players as a natural consequence of their standout achievements, being a RYT player is not a prerequisite for the All-star Team award at the EHF EURO 2024.

Petra Simon — Hungary

The winner of the EHF Excellence Awards 2024 Young Player of the Season title is a natural inclusion on the list of players to watch at the EHF EURO 2024. The 20-year-old has a huge year behind her, being named MVP and All-star Team centre back of the W19 EHF EURO 2023, then going on to make her major tournament debut at the 2023 World Championship and playing her first Olympic Games.

Simon had a significant impact for Hungary at Paris 2024, perhaps most notably in a one-goal win over Brazil secured in the last seconds, where she netted five of the last nine shots, including the match winner.

Outside the national team, Simon is now into her second season in the EHF Champions League, after scoring 39 goals on debut in 2023/24, with FTC.

Simon has been part of the RYT programme since 2021.

Léna Grandveau — France

Part of the RYT programme since its launch year in 2019, when she was named in the W17 EHF EURO All-star Team, 21-year-old Grandveau is coming into what is already her second EHF EURO. She played the 2022 edition and had just over 30 minutes on court, but her role for France has grown significantly since then. Grandveau was particularly important for the side in the world title win in December last year, contributing 20 goals overall and finishing as France’s joint-top scorer of the final. With France, she has already taken one medal this year — Olympic silver.

At club level, Grandveau is now in her first EHF Champions League, with Metz. She had a strong 2023/24 in the EHF European League, in which she reached the EHF Finals Women with Neptunes Nantes. Grandveau scored 44 goals in that competition.

For her successes in 2023, Grandveau was named the first ever IHF Young Player of the Year — Female.

Luciana Resende Rebelo — Portugal

19-year-old right back Rebelo will play her first major championship, as Portugal return to the Women’s EHF EURO for their second appearance in the final tournament, following their debut in 2008. Rebelo is Portugal’s only player in the EHF Champions League Women, having been with Team Esbjerg since 2023, two years after entering the RYT programme.

Rebelo’s achievements in younger age category events were many, and she was an important player in what is Portugal’s most successful female generation to date. Rebelo was All-star Team right back and second top scorer at the W19 EHF EURO 2023, with 62 goals, as Portugal reached the semi-finals and placed fourth. Earlier this year, she scored 36 goals at the 2024 Junior World Championship, where Portugal ranked fifth.

Viola Leuchter — Germany

No player on this list has stood out in the EHF Champions League 2024/25 as much as Leuchter, who is playing an important role for 2023/24 runners-up HB Ludwigsburg in what is her first season in the top flight.

Leuchter has been part of the RYT programme since 2021, when she was both top scorer and All-star Team right back at the W17 EHF EURO. The 2023 World Championship marked her debut at a major tournament, and she was named Best Young Player of the event, also earning a nomination for the IHF Young Player of the Year award for 2023.

Having also played the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, Leuchter looks ahead to the last national team tournament she has yet to experience, coming into the EHF EURO with over 60 goals in under 30 games for Germany.

Mia Emmenegger — Switzerland

The EHF EURO 2024 will be Switzerland’s second major tournament, and Emmenegger comes into it after being the side’s leading scorer on their debut in 2022. Then just 17, Emmenegger scored 17 goals at the previous edition. As Switzerland are co-hosts of this EHF EURO, they played the EHF EURO Cup while the qualifiers were taking place, with Emmenegger finishing as fourth-top scorer of the competition with 29 goals.

This season marks Emmenegger’s first club venture abroad, as she now plays for three-time back-to-back EHF Champions League title winners Vipers.

Emmenegger became part of the RYT programme in 2021, when she was named W17 EHF EURO All-star Team right wing. She went on to play the W19 EHF EURO that same year.

Jana Mittún — Faroe Islands

The top scorer of the W19 EHF Championship 2021, which brought her into the RYT programme, Mittún has made a smooth transition into the Faroe Islands’ senior national team. She is the leading playmaker for the side and was the top scorer on the path to the historic EHF EURO qualification, with 38 goals.

Turning 20 just two days before the EHF EURO 2024 throws off, Mittún has been part of the A national team since she was 17, making her national team debut in the EHF EURO 2022 qualifiers.

In 2023, she made her first move abroad, leaving her home club H71 in the Faroe Islands for the decorated hall of Viborg HK in Denmark. She debuted on the international club scene in the European Cup 2021/22, scoring eight goals or more in five of the seven games H71 played. 

Iva Mladenovska — North Macedonia

The youngest player on this list, right back Mladenovska is only 17 but is nevertheless looking forward to her second EHF EURO, after making the cut for the 2022 edition aged 15. But it is no surprise she was included for the home EHF EURO in 2022, as Mladenovska has been considered one of the brightest talents unearthed in Macedonian handball over the last decade.

In 2021, the Agency for Youth and Sports declared her the best young athlete in North Macedonia for that year, across all sports. It was in 2021 that Mladenovska became part of the RYT programme, following her awarding as MVP of the W17 EHF Championship 2021.

Earlier this year, Mladenovska was second top scorer for North Macedonia at the 2024 Junior World Championship, with 33 strikes. She also netted 12 goals in the EHF EURO 2024 qualifiers, making her the team’s fourth top scorer on the path to their seventh appearance at the final tournament overall. 

On a club level, Mladenovska is into her second EHF Champions League season, playing for Brest Bretagne Handball.

Photos Eva Manhart, Baptiste Fernandez/Icon Sport, Miguel Pereira, Marco Wolf, FOTO Wagner/Alexander Wagner, Alvur Haraldsen, Macedonian Handball Federation