The head coaches of the teams from Group B were mostly happy with the draw, and they shared with us their first impressions and ambitions at the European Championship.

Marko Saloranta, head coach of Finland

“I think the groups are difficult in their own way. I expect Spain to join us, which is second in the ranking, and the French national team is third. Certainly, these two national teams will play the role of favourites. However, even if we got someone from group A, for sure, my impressions would be the same, because there are no easy opponents in the final tournament and we shouldn’t spend a lot of energy on it. Now, when we know who we are playing with, we’ll start preparing and hope for the best.”

Cecille Locatelli, head coach of France

“I am very happy that we qualified for the European Championship, because we played last one five years ago. A few very interesting matches in our group await us. We have a very difficult task ahead of us, but we will do our best to reach the semi-finals.”

Bengt Soternes, head coach of Norway

“I think we were lucky in the draw. We knew we would play against the best teams on the continent. We will do our best to play our best. Our ambition is to place among the top three teams and secure a place in the World Cup in India. We have several very talented players in the team and we hope that everyone will be able to see their potential in this championship.”

Group B matches will be played in Mostar and Široki Brijeg.