At the age of 19, Kovács had her debut in Austria’s women’s team, and she has always been coached by Herbert Müller since the beginning.

On Sunday, it is match No. 75 for Kovács in the national team. Her biggest event so far has been the 2021 IHF World Championship in Spain, where she finished top of the combined list for goals and assists, with 89 points (43 goals, 46 assists).

Now, she has two more major tournaments coming up. Austria are preparing for the World Championship in Denmark, Norway and Sweden later this year, followed by the EHF EURO on home ground in November and December 2024.

“Of course, the anticipation for 2024 is really huge. It is the first EHF EURO participation for Austria since 2008, and playing such an event on home ground is something unique in your career,” Kovács says.

“We are happy that we do not have to go through qualification this time but can develop our team without pressure in the EHF EURO Cup. You can try a lot of things to be ready for 2024.”

The advantage for Austria might be the well-rehearsed squad they already have.

“In previous years, we had a lot of changes in our roster, now the team has been together for some years. To host the EHF EURO 2024 is a very special motivation for all of us, everybody wants to be part of this major event for Austrian women’s handball,” Kovács says.

Austria play their preliminary round matches of the EHF EURO in Innsbruck – and it is their big dream to make it to the main round in Vienna.

“Many of our players come from the Vienna region, so do I. And playing in Vienna would mean many friends and the families will be at our matches,” Kovács says.