2026 European Men's Handball Championship qualification

Last updated December 14, 2024

This article describes the qualification process for the 2026 European Men's Handball Championship and EHF Euro Cup.

Format

Prior to the qualification, four teams were automatically qualified:

Denmark, Norway and Sweden as co-hosts;
The best-placed team from the 2024 European Men's Handball Championship, other than the 2026 tournament co-hosts.

The remaining eligible teams contest a qualification tournament to determine the teams securing the remaining 20 places in the final tournament. The qualification tournament consists of three rounds: qualification phase 1, promotion round, and qualification phase 2.^[1]

Qualification phase 1:
- Four teams;
- Round-robin tournament format;
- Top-ranked team after all matches played advances to the promotion round.

Promotion round:
- Six teams:
  - Qualification phase 1 winner,
  - Four of the lowest-ranked fourth-placed teams of the previous cycle qualifiers round,
  - Best European team at the 2023 IHF Emerging Nations Championship;
- Two-legged tie format;
- Three aggregate winners advance to the qualification phase 2.

Qualification phase 2:
- Thirty-two teams:
  - Three promotion round winners
  - Remaining eight teams eliminated in the previous cycle qualifiers round
  - Twenty teams that participated in the 2024 European Championship, but did not qualify directly to the 2026 final tournament
- Round-robin tournament format: eight groups of four teams;
- Group winners, group runners-up, and the four best third-placed teams qualify for the final tournament.

Qualification Phase 1

Since only four teams participate in this round, no draw was needed, other than the hosting rights.^[1]^[2] Although Cyprus had the hosting rights, it declined and the rights moved to Azerbaijan.

Standings

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Great Britain	3	2	1	0	108	61	+47	5^[a]	Promotion round
2	Cyprus	3	2	1	0	104	74	+30	5^[a]
3	Azerbaijan (H)	3	1	0	2	79	96	−17	2
4	Malta	3	0	0	3	65	125	−60	0

Source: EHF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) goal difference.
(H) Hosts
Notes:

1 2 Cyprus 25–25 Great Britain

Results

All times are local (UTC+4).

13 January 2023 14:45	Cyprus	25–25	Great Britain	Baku Sports Palace, Baku Attendance: 600 Referees: Yovchev, Yonchev (BUL)
	C. Argyrou, Dimosthenous 6	(12–13)	Edgar 10
	2× 4×	Report	1× 2×

13 January 2023 17:00	Azerbaijan	34–25	Malta	Baku Sports Palace, Baku Attendance: 2,200 Referees: Peretz, Schwartz (ISR)
	Muradov 9	(18–6)	Gruppetta, Naudi 5
	1× 2×	Report	1× 3×

14 January 2023 14:45	Malta	26–47	Cyprus	Baku Sports Palace, Baku Attendance: 500 Referees: Peretz, Schwartz (ISR)
	Seifert 6	(12–23)	C. Argyrou 9
	5×	Report	2× 4×

14 January 2023 17:00	Great Britain	39–22	Azerbaijan	Baku Sports Palace, Baku Attendance: 2,100 Referees: Yovchev, Yonchev (BUL)
	White 11	(16–8)	Georgiyevski 9
	1× 1×	Report	2× 1×

15 January 2023 12:45	Great Britain	44–14	Malta	Baku Sports Palace, Baku Attendance: 450 Referees: Peretz, Schwartz (ISR)
	Pereira 17	(23–7)	Mercieca 4
	2× 2×	Report	1×

15 January 2023 15:00	Cyprus	32–23	Azerbaijan	Baku Sports Palace, Baku Attendance: 1,700 Referees: Yovchev, Yonchev (BUL)
	Dimosthenous 8	(18–15)	Mammadov 9
	2× 1×	Report	1× 4×

Promotion round

Six teams participated in this round: the winner of the Phase 1, the four of the lowest-ranked fourth-ranked teams in the 2024 European Men's Handball Championship qualification and the best European team of the 2023 IHF Emerging Nations Championship.^[1] The draw took place on 5 July 2023, in Vienna, Austria.^[3]^[4]

Participating teams

Qualification method	Team(s)
Winner of Qualification Phase 1	Great Britain
Four of the lowest-ranked fourth-ranked teams in the Men's EHF EURO 2024 Qualifiers	Belgium Kosovo Luxembourg Latvia
Best European team at the 2023 IHF Emerging Nations Championship	Cyprus

Seeding

The seeding was announced on 4 July 2023.^[3]

Pot 1	Pot 2
Belgium Kosovo Luxembourg	Latvia Great Britain Cyprus

Overview

Team 1	Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Latvia	60–61	Luxembourg	32–25	28–36
Kosovo	59–45	Great Britain	30–22	29–23
Belgium	66–40	Cyprus	30–18	36–22

Matches

11 January 2024 18:40	Latvia	32–25	Luxembourg	Valmiera Olympic Center, Valmiera Attendance: 480 Referees: Leszczyński, Piechota (POL)
	Juzups 8	(13–13)	three players 5
	1× 4× 1×	Report	8× 1×

14 January 2024 16:00	Luxembourg	36–28	Latvia	d'Coque, Luxembourg City Attendance: 1,172 Referees: Caçador, Nicolau (POR)
	Hoffmann 9	(21–13)	Geislers 9
	4×	Report	1× 2×

Luxembourg won 61–60 on aggregate.

10 January 2024 20:30	Kosovo	30–22	Great Britain	Palace of Youth and Sports, Pristina Attendance: 1,150 Referees: Erdoğan, Özdeniz (TUR)
	Dedaj 11	(13–11)	Edgar 6
	5×	Report	5×

13 January 2024 14:00	Great Britain	23–29	Kosovo	Derby Arena, Derby Attendance: 1,200 Referees: Horváth, Marton (HUN)
	Plumridgge, Wardle 4	(11–13)	Dedaj 8
	1× 4×	Report	1× 6× 1×

Kosovo won 59–45 on aggregate.

10 January 2024 18:00	Belgium	30–18	Cyprus	Sporthal Alverberg, Hasselt Attendance: 1,970 Referees: Madsen, Mortensen (DEN)
	Glorieux 7	(12–10)	three players 4
	1× 2×	Report	2×

13 January 2024 16:00	Cyprus	22–36	Belgium	Eleftheria Indoor Hall, Nicosia Attendance: 200 Referees: Boričić, Marković (SRB)
	Argyrou 7	(8–15)	Cadel 6
	1× 4×	Report	1× 5×

Belgium won 66–40 on aggregate.

Qualification Phase 2

Phase 2 will be played between November 2024 and May 2025. Like in previous cycles, 32 teams will be divided into eight groups of four, to be played as round-robin tournaments. The eight group winners and runners-up qualify for the final tournament, together with the four best third-placed teams, which will be determined taking into account only results against top two teams in each group.^[5] The draw took place on 21 March 2024 in Copenhagen, Denmark.^[6]^[7]

Participating teams

Qualification method	Team(s)
Participated in the 2024 European Championship	Germany Hungary Slovenia Portugal Austria Iceland Croatia Netherlands Spain Montenegro Czech Republic Poland North Macedonia Georgia Serbia Faroe Islands Switzerland Romania Greece Bosnia and Herzegovina
Eliminated in Qualification Phase 2 for the 2024 European Championship	Estonia Turkey Italy Slovakia Ukraine Finland Israel Lithuania
Promotion round winners	Belgium Kosovo Luxembourg
Promotion round best loser	Latvia ¹

¹ Following another motion, submitted by the competitions department and confirmed by the EXEC, Latvia, as the best-ranked team not yet qualified, received a place in the Men’s EHF EURO 2026 Qualifiers Phase 2. This one place was until now open due to the non-admittance of Russia and Belarus.^[6]

Seeding

The seeding was announced on 21 February 2024.^[8]

Pot 1	Pot 2	Pot 3	Pot 4
Germany Spain Hungary Croatia Iceland Slovenia Portugal Netherlands	Austria Montenegro Serbia Poland Czech Republic North Macedonia Faroe Islands Greece	Bosnia and Herzegovina Slovakia Belgium Switzerland Romania Lithuania Ukraine Italy	Finland Israel Estonia Georgia Turkey Luxembourg Kosovo Latvia

Groups

Times from November to March are UTC+1, Times in May are UTC+2.

Group 1

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Slovenia	2	2	0	65	53	+12	4	Final tournament
2	North Macedonia	2	1	1	64	62	+2	2	Final tournament
3	Lithuania	2	1	1	54	63	−9	2	Possible final tournament based on ranking
4	Estonia	2	0	2	61	66	−5	0

Updated to match(es) played on 10 November 2024. Source: EHF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) goal difference.

6 November 2024 20:00	North Macedonia	37–33	Estonia	Boris Trajkovski Sports Center, Skopje Attendance: 4,700 Referees: Andorka, Hucker (HUN)
	Serafimov 10	(20–20)	Toom 11
	2×	Report	2× 6×

7 November 2024 18:00	Slovenia	36–25	Lithuania	Rdeča dvorana, Velenje Attendance: 1,100 Referees: Hofer, Schmidhuber (AUT)
	Makuc, Vlah 7	(17–15)	Dumčius, Malašinskas 5
	4×	Report	5×

10 November 2024 17:00	Estonia	28–29	Slovenia	Kalevi Spordihall, Tallinn Attendance: 800 Referees: Mandák, Rudinský (SVK)
	Varul 9	(14–14)	Makuc 13
	1× 6×	Report	5×

10 November 2024 17:00	Lithuania	29–27	North Macedonia	Twinsbet Arena, Vilnius Attendance: 1,500 Referees: Budzák, Záhradník (SVK)
	Malašinskas 8	(13–12)	Kuzmanovski 8
	1× 4×	Report	2× 3×

12–13 March 2025	North Macedonia	v	Slovenia
		Report

12–13 March 2025	Estonia	v	Lithuania
		Report

15–16 March 2025	Slovenia	v	North Macedonia
		Report

15–16 March 2025	Lithuania	v	Estonia
		Report

7–8 May 2025	Lithuania	v	Slovenia
		Report

7–8 May 2025	Estonia	v	North Macedonia
		Report

11 May 2025 18:00	Slovenia	v	Estonia
		Report

11 May 2025 18:00	North Macedonia	v	Lithuania
		Report

Group 2

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Hungary	2	2	0	69	55	+14	4	Final tournament
2	Montenegro	2	2	0	67	63	+4	4	Final tournament
3	Slovakia	2	0	2	67	75	−8	0	Possible final tournament based on ranking
4	Finland	2	0	2	51	61	−10	0

Updated to match(es) played on 10 November 2024. Source: EHF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) goal difference.

6 November 2024 18:00	Montenegro	29–28	Finland	Bemax Arena, Podgorica Attendance: 2,245 Referees: Erdoğan, Özdeniz (TUR)
	Čepić, Vujović 7	(16–15)	M. Granlund 6
	3×	Report	3×

6 November 2024 19:00	Hungary	37–32	Slovakia	Audi Aréna, Győr Attendance: 1,800 Referees: Lindenbaum, Laron (ISR)
	Imre 9	(15–12)	Macháč 6
	5×	Report	4×

10 November 2024 15:00	Finland	23–32	Hungary	Energia Areena, Vantaa Attendance: 1,500 Referees: Kurtagic, Wetterwik (SWE)
	Hjálmarsson 5	(8–17)	Rosta 7
	3×	Report	1×

10 November 2024 17:00	Slovakia	35–38	Montenegro	Steel Arena, Košice Attendance: 3,000 Referees: Thiyagarajah, Thiyagarajah (GER)
	Prokop 8	(18–21)	Čepić 9
	4×	Report	4×

12 March 2025 18:00	Montenegro	v	Hungary	Morača Sports Center, Podgorica
		Report

13 March 2025 17:30	Finland	v	Slovakia	Energia Areena, Vantaa
		Report

15–16 March 2025	Hungary	v	Montenegro
		Report

15–16 March 2025	Slovakia	v	Finland
		Report

7–8 May 2025	Slovakia	v	Hungary
		Report

7–8 May 2025	Finland	v	Montenegro
		Report

11 May 2025 18:00	Hungary	v	Finland
		Report

11 May 2025 18:00	Montenegro	v	Slovakia
		Report

Group 3

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Iceland	2	2	0	62	51	+11	4	Final tournament
2	Greece	2	1	1	49	49	0	2	Final tournament
3	Bosnia and Herzegovina	2	1	1	49	54	−5	2	Possible final tournament based on ranking
4	Georgia	2	0	2	51	57	−6	0

Updated to match(es) played on 10 November 2024. Source: EHF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) goal difference.

6 November 2024 16:30	Greece	27–26	Georgia	Tasos Kampouris Indoor Hall, Chalcis Attendance: 1,000 Referees: Pavićević, Ražnatović (MNE)
	Liapis, Toskas 7	(12–13)	Tskhovrebadze 11
	2×	Report	4×

6 November 2024 20:30	Iceland	32–26	Bosnia and Herzegovina	Laugardalshöll, Reykjavík Referees: Schols, Martens
	Gunnarson 8	(12–12)	Periċ 7
	3×	Report	1× 3× 1×

10 November 2024 15:00	Georgia	25–30	Iceland	Tbilisi Sports Palace, Tbilisi Attendance: 3,000 Referees: Mitrevski, Todorovski (MKD)
	Tskhovrebadze	(13–14)	Magnússon 7
	1× 1×	Report	2× 2× 1×

10 November 2024 19:00	Bosnia and Herzegovina	23–22	Greece	Sports Hall Cazin, Cazin Attendance: 2,000 Referees: Hansen, Madsen (DEN)
	Grgić 7	(13–11)	Tziras 7
	2× 5×	Report	1× 1× 1×

12–13 March 2025	Greece	v	Iceland
		Report

12–13 March 2025	Georgia	v	Bosnia and Herzegovina
		Report

15–16 March 2025	Iceland	v	Greece
		Report

15–16 March 2025	Bosnia and Herzegovina	v	Georgia
		Report

7–8 May 2025	Bosnia and Herzegovina	v	Iceland
		Report

7–8 May 2025	Georgia	v	Greece
		Report

11 May 2025 18:00	Iceland	v	Georgia
		Report

11 May 2025 18:00	Greece	v	Bosnia and Herzegovina
		Report

Group 4

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Spain	2	2	0	69	59	+10	4	Final tournament
2	Serbia	2	1	1	68	56	+12	2	Final tournament
3	Italy	2	1	1	61	61	0	2	Possible final tournament based on ranking
4	Latvia	2	0	2	54	76	−22	0

Updated to match(es) played on 10 November 2024. Source: EHF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) goal difference.

6 November 2024 18:00	Serbia	38–25	Latvia	Kraljevo Sports Hall, Kraljevo Attendance: 3,350 Referees: Sirbu, Serdiuc (MDA)
	Pechmalbec 9	(16–10)	Kalniņš, Valkovskis 5
	1× 6×	Report	1× 3×

6 November 2024 21:00	Spain	31–30	Italy	Pabellón Municipal, Valencia Attendance: 2,900 Referees: Jović, Arnautović (BIH)
	Fernández 6	(15–17)	Helmersson 7
	1× 2×	Report	6×

10 November 2024 14:10	Latvia	29–38	Spain	Zemgale Olympic Center, Jelgava Attendance: 1,200 Referees: Ilievski, Ilievski (MKD)
	Valkovskis 9	(15–20)	Fernández 7
	1× 2×	Report	2×

10 November 2024 18:00	Italy	31–30	Serbia	Palazzetto dello Sport Fasano, Fasano Attendance: 2,000 Referees: Schulze, Tönnies (GER)
	Helmersson 8	(13–14)	Ilić, Kojadinović 6
	1×	Report	1× 3×

12–13 March 2025	Serbia	v	Spain
		Report

12–13 March 2025	Latvia	v	Italy
		Report

15–16 March 2025	Spain	v	Serbia
		Report

15–16 March 2025	Italy	v	Latvia
		Report

7–8 May 2025	Italy	v	Spain
		Report

7–8 May 2025	Latvia	v	Serbia
		Report

11 May 2025 18:00	Spain	v	Latvia
		Report

11 May 2025 18:00	Serbia	v	Italy
		Report

Group 5

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Czech Republic	2	2	0	54	32	+22	4	Final tournament
2	Croatia	2	2	0	65	48	+17	4	Final tournament
3	Luxembourg	2	0	2	42	58	−16	0	Possible final tournament based on ranking
4	Belgium	2	0	2	38	61	−23	0

Updated to match(es) played on 10 November 2024. Source: EHF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) goal difference.

6 November 2024 17:30	Czech Republic	23–17	Luxembourg	UNYP Arena, Prague Attendance: 1,482 Referees: Bozhinovski, Nachevski (MKD)
	Solák 6	(12–10)	Weyer 4
	1× 3×	Report	2×

7 November 2024 18:00	Croatia	30–23	Belgium	Varaždin Arena, Varaždin Attendance: 2,800 Referees: Simone, Monitillo (ITA)
	Šoštarič 10	(16–12)	Kotters 7
	6× 1×	Report	1× 3×

9 November 2024 20:15	Luxembourg	25–35	Croatia	d'Coque, Luxembourg City Attendance: 1,388 Referees: Fabryczny, Rawicki (POL)
	Etute 5	(9–19)	Šoštarič 6
	1× 1×	Report	1× 2×

10 November 2024 16:30	Belgium	15–31	Czech Republic	Sporthal Alverberg, Hasselt Attendance: 1,200 Referees: Vešović, Mitrović (MNE)
	Colman, Glorieux 3	(9–14)	Skopár 6
	1× 7× 1×	Report	1× 4×

12–13 March 2025	Czech Republic	v	Croatia
		Report

12–13 March 2025	Luxembourg	v	Belgium
		Report

15–16 March 2025	Croatia	v	Czech Republic
		Report

15–16 March 2025	Belgium	v	Luxembourg
		Report

7–8 May 2025	Belgium	v	Croatia
		Report

7–8 May 2025	Luxembourg	v	Czech Republic
		Report

11 May 2025 18:00	Croatia	v	Luxembourg
		Report

11 May 2025 18:00	Czech Republic	v	Belgium
		Report

Group 6

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Netherlands	2	1	1	0	73	72	+1	3	Final tournament
2	Faroe Islands	2	1	0	1	64	56	+8	2	Final tournament
3	Ukraine	2	1	0	1	74	72	+2	2	Possible final tournament based on ranking
4	Kosovo	2	0	1	1	54	65	−11	1

Updated to match(es) played on 10 November 2024. Source: EHF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) goal difference.

6 November 2024 20:00	Faroe Islands	32–21	Kosovo	Holin A Halsi, Tórshavn Attendance: 1,700 Referees: Picard, Vauchez (FRA)
	Mittún 8	(13–9)	three players 4
	4×	Report	1× 2×

7 November 2024 19:30	Netherlands	40–39	Ukraine	Topsportcentrum, Almere Attendance: 1,250 Referees: Borge, Nygren (NOR)
	Baijens 9	(19–20)	Artemenko 13
	2×	Report	4×

10 November 2024 14:00	Ukraine	35–32	Faroe Islands	Twinsbet Arena, Vilnius, Lithuania^{[note 1]} Attendance: 250 Referees: Cindrić, Gonzurek (CRO)
	Turchenko 11	(14–17)	Mittún 8
	4×	Report	1× 1×

10 November 2024 17:15	Kosovo	33–33	Netherlands	Palace of Youth and Sports, Pristina Attendance: 1,750 Referees: Lovin, Stancu (ROU)
	Dedaj 8	(19–17)	Ten Velde 13
	3×	Report	1× 4×

12–13 March 2025	Faroe Islands	v	Netherlands
		Report

12–13 March 2025	Kosovo	v	Ukraine
		Report

15–16 March 2025	Netherlands	v	Faroe Islands
		Report

15–16 March 2025	Ukraine	v	Kosovo	^{[note 1]}
		Report

7–8 May 2025	Ukraine	v	Netherlands	^{[note 1]}
		Report

7–8 May 2025	Kosovo	v	Faroe Islands
		Report

11 May 2025 18:00	Netherlands	v	Kosovo
		Report

11 May 2025 18:00	Faroe Islands	v	Ukraine
		Report

Group 7

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Germany	2	2	0	0	71	55	+16	4	Final tournament
2	Austria	2	1	1	0	60	57	+3	3	Final tournament
3	Switzerland	2	0	1	1	55	64	−9	1	Possible final tournament based on ranking
4	Turkey	2	0	0	2	57	67	−10	0

Updated to match(es) played on 10 November 2024. Source: EHF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) goal difference.

7 November 2024 18:00	Austria	31–28	Turkey	Sporthalle Rieden-Vorkloster, Bregenz Attendance: 1,800 Referees: Lončar, Lončar (CRO)
	Bilyk, Frimmel 7	(17–13)	Biçer 7
	4×	Report	1×

7 November 2024 18:30	Germany	35–26	Switzerland	SAP Arena, Mannheim Attendance: 12,721 Referees: Martins, Martins (POR)
	Zerbe 8	(21–13)	Rubin, Zehnder 5
	2×	Report	1×

10 November 2024 15:10	Turkey	29–36	Germany	Yaşar Sevim Sport Hall, Ankara Attendance: 2,090 Referees: Metalari, Nikolovski (MKD)
	Pehlivan 7	(14–20)	Zerbe 8
	2× 5×	Report	3×

10 November 2024 16:00	Switzerland	29–29	Austria	BBC Arena, Schaffhausen Attendance: 2,450 Referees: Marín, García (ESP)
	Zehnder 6	(12–12)	Wagner 8
	6× 3×	Report	2× 6× 1×

12–13 March 2025	Austria	v	Germany
		Report

12–13 March 2025	Turkey	v	Switzerland
		Report

15–16 March 2025	Germany	v	Austria
		Report

15–16 March 2025	Switzerland	v	Turkey
		Report

7–8 May 2025	Switzerland	v	Germany
		Report

7–8 May 2025	Turkey	v	Austria
		Report

11 May 2025 18:00	Germany	v	Turkey
		Report

11 May 2025 18:00	Austria	v	Switzerland
		Report

Group 8

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Portugal	2	2	0	0	73	53	+20	4	Final tournament
2	Poland	2	1	1	0	60	59	+1	3	Final tournament
3	Israel	2	0	1	1	55	68	−13	1	Possible final tournament based on ranking
4	Romania	2	0	0	2	57	65	−8	0

Updated to match(es) played on 10 November 2024. Source: EHF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) goal difference.

7 November 2024 18:00	Poland	32–32	Israel	Urania Arena, Olsztyn Attendance: 4,030 Referees: Boričić, Marković (CRO)
	Moryto 10	(12–16)	Lumbroso 9
	1× 5×	Report	5×

7 November 2024 20:00	Portugal	37–30	Romania	Pavilhão Desportivo Municipal de Santo Tirso, Santo Tirso Attendance: 1,000 Referees: Gasmi, Gasmi (FRA)
	Frade 11	(12–16)	Botea 9
	1× 1×	Report	1× 5×

10 November 2024 18:00	Romania	27–28	Poland	Sala Sporturilor „Romeo Iamandi”, Buzău Attendance: 1,800 Referees: Horáček, Novotný (CZE)
	Botea 8	(9–15)	Moryto, Przytuła 6
	1×	Report	4×

10 November 2024 18:30	Portugal	36–23	Israel	Pavilhão Desportivo Municipal de Santo Tirso, Santo Tirso Attendance: 2,050 Referees: Fotakidis, Kinatzidis (GRE)
	Costa 6	(21–13)	Levi 5
	6×	Report	2×

12–13 March 2025	Poland	v	Portugal
		Report

12–13 March 2025	Israel	v	Romania
		Report

15–16 March 2025	Portugal	v	Poland
		Report

15–16 March 2025	Romania	v	Israel
		Report

7–8 May 2025	Romania	v	Portugal
		Report

7–8 May 2025	Israel	v	Poland
		Report

11 May 2025 18:00	Poland	v	Romania
		Report

12 May 2025	Israel	v	Portugal
		Report

Ranking of third-placed teams

The results against the fourth-placed team are omitted.

Pos	Grp	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	6	Ukraine	2	1	0	1	74	72	+2	2	Final tournament
2	4	Italy	2	1	0	1	61	61	0	2
3	3	Bosnia and Herzegovina	2	1	0	1	49	54	−5	2
4	1	Lithuania	2	1	0	1	54	63	−9	2
5	7	Switzerland	2	0	1	1	55	64	−9	1
6	8	Israel	2	0	1	1	55	68	−13	1
7	2	Slovakia	2	0	0	2	67	75	−8	0
8	5	Luxembourg	2	0	0	2	42	58	−16	0

Updated to match(es) played on 10 November 2024. Source: EHF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored; 4) draw.

EHF Euro Cup

The EHF Euro Cup is played between the 2026 co-hosts Denmark, Norway and Sweden, plus the champions of the 2024 European Championship, France.

Standings

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	France	2	2	0	68	58	+10	4
2	Denmark	2	2	0	65	56	+9	4
3	Norway	2	0	2	54	63	−9	0
4	Sweden	2	0	2	60	70	−10	0

Updated to match(es) played on 10 November 2024. Source: EHF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) goal difference.

Results

6 November 2024 21:00	Denmark	32–27	Norway	Jyske Bank Boxen, Herning Attendance: 6,500 Referees: Bolic, Hurich (AUT)
	Gidsel 10	(15–13)	Tønnesen 5
	1×	Report	2× 1×

6 November 2024 21:10	France	37–31	Sweden	Arena Orléans, Orléans Attendance: 5,567 Referees: Mikelić, Paradina (CRO)
	Descat 9	(21–11)	Pellas 6
	1× 3×	Report	1× 1×

9 November 2024 18:15	Norway	27–31	France	Stavanger Idrettshall, Stavanger Attendance: 3,824 Referees: Kiss, Bíró (HUN)
	Pettersen 4	(14–17)	Remili, Tournat 5
	5×	Report	1×

10 November 2024 16:00	Sweden	29–33	Denmark	Saab Arena, Linköping Attendance: 6,676 Referees: Sekulić, Jovandić (SRB)
	Gottfridsson 6	(16–17)	four players 4
	3×	Report	1× 2×

12 March 2025	Sweden	v	Norway	Avicii Arena, Stockholm
		Report

12 March 2025	France	v	Denmark	Lyon
		Report

15 March 2025	Denmark	v	France
		Report

15–16 March 2025	Norway	v	Sweden
		Report

7 May 2025	Sweden	v	France	Scandinavium, Gothenburg
		Report

7-8 May 2025	Norway	v	Denmark
		Report

11 May 2025	France	v	Norway
		Report

11 May 2025	Denmark	v	Sweden
		Report

Qualified teams

Country	Qualified as	Date qualification was secured	Previous appearances in tournament
Denmark	Co-host	20 November 2021	15 (1994, 1996, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2024)
Norway			11 (2000, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2020 , 2022, 2024)
Sweden			15 (1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2020 , 2022 , 2024)
France	Winner of 2024 European Championship	26 January 2024	16 (1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2024)

Note: Bold indicates champion for that year. Italic indicates host for that year.

Notes

1 2 3 Due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Ukrainian team plays their home matches at neutral venues.

References

1 2 3 "EHF EURO 2026 road begins with qualification phase 1 draw". eurohandball.com. 12 October 2022.
↑ "Cyprus wins right to host EHF EURO 2026 qualification tournament". eurohandball.com. 13 October 2022.
1 2 "Draw set for 2025 Men's World Championship qualification". eurohandball.com. 4 July 2023.
↑ "Men's World Championship Qualification draw sets up Baltic clash". eurohandball.com. 5 July 2023.
↑ "Bid brochure EHF EURO 2026 & 2028". eurohandball.com. 2020.
1 2 "Exec takes key decisions for national team competitions". eurohandball.com. 1 February 2024.
↑ "Familiar rivals to meet again in Men's EHF EURO 2026 Qualifiers". eurohandball.com. 21 March 2024.
↑ "Draw procedure for Men's EHF EURO 2026 Qualifiers revealed". eurohandball.com. 11 March 2024.

External links

EHF website

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[table_hth_GBR0.40159019101485-3] 1 2 Cyprus 25–25 Great Britain

[Ukraine-10] 1 2 3 Due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Ukrainian team plays their home matches at neutral venues.

[Format-1] 1 2 3 "EHF EURO 2026 road begins with qualification phase 1 draw". eurohandball.com. 12 October 2022.

[2] "Cyprus wins right to host EHF EURO 2026 qualification tournament". eurohandball.com. 13 October 2022.

[Draw-4] 1 2 "Draw set for 2025 Men's World Championship qualification". eurohandball.com. 4 July 2023.

[5] "Men's World Championship Qualification draw sets up Baltic clash". eurohandball.com. 5 July 2023.

[6] "Bid brochure EHF EURO 2026 & 2028". eurohandball.com. 2020.

[Exec-7] 1 2 "Exec takes key decisions for national team competitions". eurohandball.com. 1 February 2024.

[8] "Familiar rivals to meet again in Men's EHF EURO 2026 Qualifiers". eurohandball.com. 21 March 2024.

[9] "Draw procedure for Men's EHF EURO 2026 Qualifiers revealed". eurohandball.com. 11 March 2024.

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2026 European Men's Handball Championship qualification

Contents

Format

Qualification Phase 1

Standings

Results

Promotion round

Participating teams

Seeding

Overview

Matches

Qualification Phase 2

Participating teams

Seeding

Groups

Group 1

Group 2

Group 3

Group 4

Group 5

Group 6

Group 7

Group 8

Ranking of third-placed teams

EHF Euro Cup

Standings

Results

Qualified teams

Notes

Related Research Articles

References

External links