European Men's Handball Championship to tie the game at full-time, and two 10-minute extra periods were required before Sweden won 32–31 after Magnus Wislander scored the deciding goal. Three-time champions Sweden were the next to host the European Championship, in 2002. This was the first tournament with 16 teams, an expansion from 12 in the previous four instalments. The Swedes won their first seven matches, and had already qualified for the semi-finals when they lost 26–27 to Denmark, having led 17–11 at half time. In the other main round group, Iceland became the third Nordic team to qualify after defeating Germany in the final
Latvia at the UEFA European Championship Latvia at the UEFA European Championship Latvia qualified once for a UEFA European Championship, the 2004 edition. After finishing second in their qualifying group, they won the two-legged play-offs against Turkey (3–2 on aggregate) to secure their first appearance at the end stage of a major tournament. In doing so, Latvia became the first and (as of 2014) still the only Baltic team to qualify for a European Championship. At the Euro 2004, Latvia were drawn in Group D, alongside Germany, Czech Republic, and Netherlands. Latvia faced Czech Republic in their opening match on 15 June 2004, with Māris Verpakovskis