Which nations are ready to end their FIBA Women's EuroBasket appearance drought?

MUNICH (Germany) - Ahead of this decisive last window of the FIBA Women's EuroBasket 2023 Qualifiers, we take a look at which nations are hoping to end the longest of waits and make it back to the Final Round.

Focusing on those teams still in with a fighting chance of making it to Slovenia and Israel for this summer's flagship event, here's seven nations with the longest waits behind them.

Portugal - Never qualified

Current position: 2nd place in Group G (2-2)
Remaining schedule: H v Greece; A v Great Britain

Top of the list is a potential history-maker in the shape of Portugal, so technically you could argue they have waited more than 80 years to punch their ticket. Having attained some youth success during the last decade or so, hopes had been high that this might translate itself into senior progression, but patience has been the main requirement so far. They have a shot at making it out of Group G with a second placed finish and could this be the year when their Final Round wait is ended. It will be quite the party if they do make it!

Denmark - 1974

Current position: 1st place in Group G (1-2)
Remaining schedule: A v Montenegro

It's almost 50 years since Denmark booked their spot and even if hopes are slim they will be able to end their absent streak, they will head into the last window still hopeful it could happen. The underdogs have racked up some impressive wins in the past few years and are certainly on the rise. The last time they featured was in 1974 when the event was held in Italy and it was a tough mission, losing heavily to powerhouses Czechoslovakia and France before going down by 20 points to Netherlands in the Group stage.

Netherlands - 1989

Current position: 1st place in Group I (2-1)
Remaining schedule: A v Czech Republic

Will the Dutch team soon be celebrating a return? They have an opportunity to accomplish that mission since a strong win against Czech Republic would likely see them advance. Back at the 1989 edition in Bulgaria, they didn't win a game, but still got huge praise for the way they almost pulled off two massive shocks. They pushed the mighty Soviet Union and eventual title winners so close it was a one-shot game in the end at 59-56, did well against silver medalists Czechoslovakia in a 68-60 loss, also going down to Italy.

Germany - 2011

Current position: 2nd place in Group A (3-1)
Remaining schedule: H v Belgium; A v Bosnia and Herzegovina

It's more than a decade since Germany appeared at the event, competing in Poland during 2011 but not managing to get themselves a win. They went down to Spain in their opener which was predictable,  even with ballers like the respected Anne Breitreiner on board. However, there was huge disappointment when they were swept aside by 15 points off the host nation and then were stunned by Montenegro who proved to be the surprise package of the competition. Now they are out to get themselves back around the top table once more, even if they will have to do it without marquee star Satou Sabally. But at least they have Leonie Fiebich in stellar form.

 

Israel - 2011

Current position: 2nd place in Group J (1-2) - already qualified
Remaining schedule: H v Sweden

As co-hosts of this year's tournament and unlike any other nations on this list, Israel are of course guaranteed a return back to the Final Round. Still, they have also not competed since 2011 when they truly crashed and burned in a big way, heading home early after three hugely disappointing defeats in as many days. Despite the presence of scoring machine Shay Doron and several members of the EuroCup Women champion team from Elitzur Ramla, they lost by 16 to Czech Republic, by 27 to Belarus and by 23 to Great Britain.

Lithuania - 2015

Current position: 2nd place in Group B (3-1)
Remaining schedule: H v France; A v Ukraine

Lithuania want to feature for the first time since 2015 in Romania and Hungary when they had a truly amazing rollercoaster. They eventually reached the Quarter-Finals having lost their opening two contests, then catching fire with a stunning five wins in a row, before losing their last three games to finish 8th. Some of that roster are still around including the likes of Gintare Petronyte, Kamile Nacickaite and Monika Grigalauskyte. Lithuania can be there this summer, but need to get some big results in this last window.

Poland - 2015

Current position: 3rd place in Group D (2-2)
Remaining schedule: H v Turkey; A v Slovenia

Having qualified as hosts of the 2011 edition, when they subsequnetly won just 1 of their games on home soil, there were hopes that when competing four years later, they could maybe punch a little harder. However, it turned out to be even less fruitful as they made a quick return home having been defeated in all four games. To be fair, they did have some close encounters that could have went either way, including a 57-54 loss to Turkey. Spearheaded by Ewelina Kobryn, even the presence of the legend was not enough to inspire a victory. They're trying to make a return after 7 years away, but it means having to win against two tough teams in Turkey and Slovenia.

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