Thousands of citizens welcomed the Macedonian men's handball team at the Skopje main square on Saturday, after they finished fifth at the European Championships in Serbia, securing a place in the qualifications for this year's London Olympics.

President Gjorge Ivanov, Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski, ministers and MPs were also present at the square.

Captain Kiril Lazarov addressed the crowd, saying sport is the country's best ambassador.

"I want to thank all my colleagues, who left their hearts on the pitch and fought until their last breath with big European teams", said Lazarov, adding the next destination is the London Olympics.

Team coach Zvonko Sundovski said Europe now sees Macedonia as a handball powerhouse, whereas the Macedonian fans overwhelm all others.

In the fifth-place match, Macedonia beat Slovenia 28:27 on Friday, thus achieving the biggest success in Macedonian handball history. Moreover, captain Kiril Lazarov became the best scorer in the history of the handball euros with 61 goals to his credit.