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
Republic of Ireland at the UEFA European Championship in a qualifying process. The Republic of Ireland have participated in three UEFA European Football Championships finals, those held in 1988, 2012 and 2016. They have played ten matches: winning two, drawing two and losing six. They have scored six goals and conceded sixteen. In 2012, they equalled the worst performance by a team in European Championship history. They finished bottom of their group and were the first team eliminated from the tournament following a 4-0 defeat in their second game. Ireland qualified for the finals after winning Group 7 of the qualifying tournament. A late goal by Scotland's Gary