EM i håndbold for mænd 2026 (in Danish) EM i håndball for menn 2026 (in Norwegian) EM i handboll för herrar 2026 (in Swedish) | |
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Tournament details | |
Host countries | ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Venue(s) | 4 (in 4 host cities) |
Dates | 15 January – 1 February [1] |
Teams | 24 (from 1 confederation) |
The 2026 EHF European Men's Handball Championship, commonly referred to as the EHF Euro 2026, will be the 17th edition of the EHF European Men's Handball Championship, the biennial international men's handball championship of Europe organized by EHF. It will be co-hosted by Denmark, Norway and Sweden from 15 January to 1 February 2026.
On 11 May 2021 it was announced that the following nations sent in an official expression of interest: [1]
As only the Scandinavian bid remained it was unanimously selected at the 14th EHF Extraordinary Congress on 20 November 2021. [3] [4]
36 teams registered for participation and competed for 20 places at the final tournament. After the qualification round 1, the remaining 32 teams take part in qualification round 2, where each team is drawn into eights groups of four. The top-two placed teams in each group qualified for the final tournament, alongside the four best-ranked third-placed teams, not counting the matches against fourth-placed teams. The draw took place on 21 March 2024 in Copenhagen, Denmark. [5] [6] Qualification started in November 2025 and ended in May 2026.
Of the 24 qualifiers, 22 return from the previous edition. Italy qualified for only their second appearance, with their first being back in 1998. Ukraine come back having missed out in 2024.
Of the non-qualifiers, Bosnia and Herzegovina miss out for the first time since 2018, while 2024 debutants, Greece also failed to qualify.
The lowest ranked team from the EHF rankings to qualify was Ukraine, ranked 30th. The highest ranked team to not qualify was Greece, ranked 22nd.
Team | Qualification method | Date of qualification | Appearance(s) | Previous best performance | Rank [7] | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total | First | Last | Streak | |||||
![]() | Host nation | 20 November 2021 | 16th | 1994 | 2024 | 14 | Champions (2008, 2012) | 1 |
![]() | 12th | 2000 | 11 | Third place (2020) | 8 | |||
![]() | 16th | 1994 | 10 | Champions (1994, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2022) | 4 | |||
![]() | Defending champions | 26 January 2024 | 17th | 17 | Champions (2006, 2010, 2014, 2024) | 2 | ||
![]() | Top 2 in Group 3 | 15 March 2025 | 14th | 2000 | 14 | Third place (2010) | 9 | |
![]() | Top 2 in Group 5 | 15 March 2025 | 17th | 1994 | 17 | Runners-up (2008, 2010, 2020) | 5 | |
![]() | Top 2 in Group 1 | 15th | 6 | Runners-up (2004) | 11 | |||
![]() | Top 2 in Group 8 | 16 March 2025 | 9th | 4 | Sixth place (2020) | 7 | ||
![]() | Top 2 in Group 2 | 7 May 2025 | 15th | 12 | Fifth place (2024) | 6 | ||
![]() | Top 2 in Group 5 | 13th | 1996 | 5 | Sixth place (1996) | 17 | ||
![]() | Top 2 in Group 7 | 16th | 1994 | 6 | Champions (2004, 2016) | 3 | ||
![]() | Top 2 in Group 3 | 8 May 2025 | 2nd | 2024 | 2 | 18th place (2024) | 26 | |
![]() | Top 2 in Group 2 | 8th | 2008 | 7 | Eleventh place (2022) | 14 | ||
![]() | Top 2 in Group 4 | 17th | 1994 | 17 | Champions (2018, 2020) | 10 | ||
![]() | Top 2 in Group 6 | 2nd | 2024 | 2 | 20th place (2024) | 21 | ||
![]() | 4th | 2020 | 4 | Tenth place (2022) | 12 | |||
![]() | Top 2 in Group 7 | 11 May 2025 | 7th | 2010 | 5 | Eighth place (2020, 2024) | 13 | |
![]() | Top 2 in Group 1 | 9th | 1998 | 8 | Fifth place (2012) | 19 | ||
![]() | Top 2 in Group 8 | 12th | 2002 | 4 | Fourth place (2010) | 16 | ||
![]() | Top 2 in Group 4 | 9th | 2010 | 9 | Runners-up (2012) | 18 | ||
![]() | Four best third place teams | 2nd | 1998 | 1 | Eleventh place (1998) | 20 | ||
![]() | 4th | 1994 | 2024 | 2 | Ninth place (1996) | 25 | ||
![]() | 6th | 2002 | 2 | Twelfth place (2004) | 15 | |||
![]() | 8th | 2000 | 2022 | 1 | Eleventh place (2002) | 30 |
A first draft of the venues was proposed in August 2023. [8] The tournament will be played across four venues in four cities: one in Denmark (Herning, Groups A and B), one in Norway (Bærum, Groups C and D), and two in Sweden (Malmö and Kristianstad, Groups E and F). [9] The main round will take place in Herning and Malmö, with the former organising the final weekend. [10] In regards to Norway, Oslo was chosen over Trondheim, after negotiations with Trondheim fell through due to financial reasons. [11]
In September 2024, one team per venue was selected. Denmark will play in Herning (Group B), Norway in Bærum (Group C) and Sweden in Malmö (Group E). If they qualify, Germany will play in Herning (Group A), the Faroe Islands in Bærum (Group D) and Iceland in Kristianstad (Group F). [12]
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Unity Arena Capacity: 15,000 | Kristianstad Arena Capacity: 4,700 | |
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Jyske Bank Boxen Capacity: 12,500 | Malmö Arena Capacity: 13,000 | |
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The draw took place in Herning, Denmark, on 15 May 2025. [13] [14] On 2 September 2024, the three co-hosts were allowed to choose a nation to be drawn in their country if they qualified. Denmark chose Germany, Norway picked Faroe Islands while Sweden selected Iceland. [15] [16] [12]
The seedings were announced on 12 May 2025. [17]
Pot 1 | Pot 2 | Pot 3 | Pot 4 |
---|---|---|---|
The 18 referee pairs were selected on 8 October 2025. [18]
Referees | |
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![]() | Amar Konjičanin Dino Konjičanin |
![]() | Václav Horáček Jiří Novotný |
![]() | Mads Hansen Jesper Madsen |
![]() | Robert Schulze Tobias Tönnies |
![]() | Ádám Bíró Olivér Kiss |
![]() | Jónas Elíasson Anton Pálsson |
![]() | Tomas Barysas Povilas Petrušis |
![]() | Igor Covalciuc Alexei Covalciuc |
Referees | |
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![]() | Ivan Pavićević Miloš Ražnatović |
![]() | Mitrevski Dimitar Todorovski Blagojche |
![]() | Slave Nikolov Gjorgji Nachevski |
![]() | Lars Jørum Håvard Kleven |
![]() | Daniel Martins Roberto Martins |
![]() | Bojan Lah David Sok |
![]() | Mirza Kurtagic Mattias Wetterwik |
![]() | Kürşad Erdoğan İbrahim Özdeniz |
The schedule was released on 10 November 2024. [19]
All times are local (UTC+1). [20]
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Main round |
2 | ![]() | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
3 | ![]() | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
4 | ![]() | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
15 January 2026 18:00 | Spain ![]() | v | ![]() | Jyske Bank Boxen, Herning |
Report | ||||
15 January 2026 20:30 | Germany ![]() | v | ![]() | Jyske Bank Boxen, Herning |
Report | ||||
17 January 2026 18:00 | Austria ![]() | v | ![]() | Jyske Bank Boxen, Herning |
Report | ||||
17 January 2026 20:30 | Serbia ![]() | v | ![]() | Jyske Bank Boxen, Herning |
Report | ||||
19 January 2026 18:00 | Austria ![]() | v | ![]() | Jyske Bank Boxen, Herning |
Report | ||||
19 January 2026 20:30 | Germany ![]() | v | ![]() | Jyske Bank Boxen, Herning |
Report | ||||
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Main round |
2 | ![]() | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
3 | ![]() | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
4 | ![]() | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
16 January 2026 18:00 | Portugal ![]() | v | ![]() | Jyske Bank Boxen, Herning |
Report | ||||
16 January 2026 20:30 | Denmark ![]() | v | ![]() | Jyske Bank Boxen, Herning |
Report | ||||
18 January 2026 18:00 | North Macedonia ![]() | v | ![]() | Jyske Bank Boxen, Herning |
Report | ||||
18 January 2026 20:30 | Romania ![]() | v | ![]() | Jyske Bank Boxen, Herning |
Report | ||||
20 January 2026 18:00 | North Macedonia ![]() | v | ![]() | Jyske Bank Boxen, Herning |
Report | ||||
20 January 2026 20:30 | Denmark ![]() | v | ![]() | Jyske Bank Boxen, Herning |
Report | ||||
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Main round |
2 | ![]() | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
3 | ![]() | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
4 | ![]() | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
15 January 2026 18:00 | France ![]() | v | ![]() | Unity Arena, Bærum |
Report | ||||
15 January 2026 20:30 | Norway ![]() | v | ![]() | Unity Arena, Bærum |
Report | ||||
17 January 2026 18:00 | Ukraine ![]() | v | ![]() | Unity Arena, Bærum |
Report | ||||
17 January 2026 20:30 | Czech Republic ![]() | v | ![]() | Unity Arena, Bærum |
Report | ||||
19 January 2026 18:00 | Czech Republic ![]() | v | ![]() | Unity Arena, Bærum |
Report | ||||
19 January 2026 20:30 | France ![]() | v | ![]() | Unity Arena, Bærum |
Report | ||||
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Main round |
2 | ![]() | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
3 | ![]() | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
4 | ![]() | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
16 January 2026 18:00 | Slovenia ![]() | v | ![]() | Unity Arena, Bærum |
Report | ||||
16 January 2026 20:30 | Faroe Islands ![]() | v | ![]() | Unity Arena, Bærum |
Report | ||||
18 January 2026 18:00 | Montenegro ![]() | v | ![]() | Unity Arena, Bærum |
Report | ||||
18 January 2026 20:30 | Switzerland ![]() | v | ![]() | Unity Arena, Bærum |
Report | ||||
20 January 2026 18:00 | Montenegro ![]() | v | ![]() | Unity Arena, Bærum |
Report | ||||
20 January 2026 20:30 | Slovenia ![]() | v | ![]() | Unity Arena, Bærum |
Report | ||||
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Main round |
2 | ![]() | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
3 | ![]() | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
4 | ![]() | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
17 January 2026 18:00 | Croatia ![]() | v | ![]() | Malmö Arena, Malmö |
Report | ||||
17 January 2026 20:30 | Sweden ![]() | v | ![]() | Malmö Arena, Malmö |
Report | ||||
19 January 2026 18:00 | Netherlands ![]() | v | ![]() | Malmö Arena, Malmö |
Report | ||||
19 January 2026 20:30 | Georgia ![]() | v | ![]() | Malmö Arena, Malmö |
Report | ||||
21 January 2026 18:00 | Netherlands ![]() | v | ![]() | Malmö Arena, Malmö |
Report | ||||
21 January 2026 20:30 | Sweden ![]() | v | ![]() | Malmö Arena, Malmö |
Report | ||||
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Main round |
2 | ![]() | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
3 | ![]() | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
4 | ![]() | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
16 January 2026 18:00 | Iceland ![]() | v | ![]() | Kristianstad Arena, Kristianstad |
Report | ||||
16 January 2026 20:30 | Hungary ![]() | v | ![]() | Kristianstad Arena, Kristianstad |
Report | ||||
18 January 2026 18:00 | Poland ![]() | v | ![]() | Kristianstad Arena, Kristianstad |
Report | ||||
18 January 2026 20:30 | Italy ![]() | v | ![]() | Kristianstad Arena, Kristianstad |
Report | ||||
20 January 2026 18:00 | Poland ![]() | v | ![]() | Kristianstad Arena, Kristianstad |
Report | ||||
20 January 2026 20:30 | Hungary ![]() | v | ![]() | Kristianstad Arena, Kristianstad |
Report | ||||
Points and goals gained in the preliminary group against teams that advance were transferred to the main round.
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | A1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Semifinals |
2 | B1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
3 | C1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Fifth place game |
4 | A2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
5 | B2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
6 | C2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
22 January 2026 | C1 | v | B2 | Jyske Bank Boxen, Herning |
22 January 2026 | A2 | v | C2 | Jyske Bank Boxen, Herning |
22 January 2026 | A1 | v | B1 | Jyske Bank Boxen, Herning |
24 January 2026 | C1 | v | B1 | Jyske Bank Boxen, Herning |
24 January 2026 | A1 | v | C2 | Jyske Bank Boxen, Herning |
24 January 2026 | A2 | v | B2 | Jyske Bank Boxen, Herning |
26 January 2026 | A1 | v | B2 | Jyske Bank Boxen, Herning |
26 January 2026 | A2 | v | C1 | Jyske Bank Boxen, Herning |
26 January 2026 | B1 | v | C2 | Jyske Bank Boxen, Herning |
28 January 2026 | A1 | v | C1 | Jyske Bank Boxen, Herning |
28 January 2026 | A2 | v | B1 | Jyske Bank Boxen, Herning |
28 January 2026 | B2 | v | C2 | Jyske Bank Boxen, Herning |
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | D1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Semifinals |
2 | E1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
3 | F1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Fifth place game |
4 | D2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
5 | E2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
6 | F2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
23 January 2026 | F1 | v | E2 | Malmö Arena, Malmö |
23 January 2026 | D2 | v | F2 | Malmö Arena, Malmö |
23 January 2026 | D1 | v | E1 | Malmö Arena, Malmö |
25 January 2026 | F1 | v | E1 | Malmö Arena, Malmö |
25 January 2026 | D1 | v | F2 | Malmö Arena, Malmö |
25 January 2026 | D2 | v | E2 | Malmö Arena, Malmö |
27 January 2026 | D1 | v | E2 | Malmö Arena, Malmö |
27 January 2026 | D2 | v | F1 | Malmö Arena, Malmö |
27 January 2026 | E1 | v | F2 | Malmö Arena, Malmö |
28 January 2026 | D1 | v | F1 | Malmö Arena, Malmö |
28 January 2026 | D2 | v | E1 | Malmö Arena, Malmö |
28 January 2026 | E2 | v | F2 | Malmö Arena, Malmö |
Semi-finals | Final | |||||
30 January | ||||||
1 February | ||||||
30 January | ||||||
Third place | ||||||
1 February | ||||||
30 January 2026 17:45 | v | Jyske Bank Boxen, Herning | ||
30 January 2026 20:30 | v | Jyske Bank Boxen, Herning | ||
30 January 2026 15:00 | v | Jyske Bank Boxen, Herning | ||
1 February 2026 15:15 | v | Jyske Bank Boxen, Herning | ||
1 February 2026 18:00 | v | Jyske Bank Boxen, Herning | ||
The teams ranked fourth in each group after the completion of the preliminary round matches will be ranked 19 to 24, while teams ranked third in each group after the completion of the preliminary round matches will be ranked 13 to 18 according to the number of points won in the preliminary round. Places seven or eight will be attributed to the two teams ranked fourth in the main round groups, places nine and ten to the two teams ranked fifth in the main round groups, places eleven and twelve to the two teams ranked sixth in the main round groups according to the number of points won by the respective teams after completion of the main round matches. Places one to six will be decided by play–off or knock–out.
As of April 2025, the EHF states that preparations are going smoothly. [21]