2026 European Women's Handball Championship qualification

This article describes the qualification for the 2026 European Women's Handball Championship.

Qualification system

Nine teams played in phase 1 in a single round-robin system, with the group winners advancing to phase 2 and join the remaining teams.

Qualification phase 1

The groups were played at a single venue.

Draw

The draw took place on 20 December 2024. ^[1]

Seeding

Pot 1	Pot 2	Pot 3
Bosnia and Herzegovina   Lithuania   Luxembourg	Bulgaria   Cyprus   Great Britain	Belgium   Estonia   Malta

Groups

Group 1

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Bosnia and Herzegovina (H)	2	2	0	0	56	35	+21	4	Qualification phase 2
2	Estonia	2	1	0	1	55	56	−1	2
3	Great Britain	2	0	0	2	40	60	−20	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

7 March 2025 17:00	Estonia	20–31	Bosnia and Herzegovina	KSPC Mejdan, Tuzla Attendance: 400 Referees: Pavićević, Martinović (MNE)
	Gorbatsjova 5	(8–14)	Bošnjak 7
	1× 4×	Report	2×

---

8 March 2025 17:00	Great Britain	25–35	Estonia	KSPC Mejdan, Tuzla Attendance: 100 Referees: Pavićević, Martinović (MNE)
	Luke 9	(14–19)	Molkova 11
	1× 1×	Report	5×

---

9 March 2025 17:00	Bosnia and Herzegovina	25–15	Great Britain	KSPC Mejdan, Tuzla Attendance: 450 Referees: Pavićević, Martinović (MNE)
	Topčić 7	(12–9)	Kesselring 4
	3×	Report	1× 4×

Group 2

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Lithuania	2	2	0	0	66	31	+35	4	Qualification phase 2
2	Bulgaria (H)	2	1	0	1	60	41	+19	2
3	Malta	2	0	0	2	22	76	−54	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

7 March 2025 17:30	Bulgaria	37–14	Malta	Palace of Culture and Sports, Varna Attendance: 750 Referees: Bočáková, Jánošíková (SVK)
	Spasova 10	(19–9)	Schiavone 5
	1× 6×	Report	2×

---

8 March 2025 15:00	Malta	8–39	Lithuania	Palace of Culture and Sports, Varna Attendance: 150 Referees: Bočáková, Jánošíková (SVK)
	Petrella 3	(3–17)	Andronik 7
	3×	Report	1× 3×

---

9 March 2025 13:00	Lithuania	27–23	Bulgaria	Palace of Culture and Sports, Varna Attendance: 1,000 Referees: Bočáková, Jánošíková (SVK)
	Pilikauskaitė 8	(16–11)	Panayotova 6
	4×	Report	1× 4×

Group 3

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Belgium	2	2	0	0	54	41	+13	4	Qualification phase 2
2	Cyprus (H)	2	1	0	1	44	42	+2	2
3	Luxembourg	2	0	0	2	44	59	−15	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

7 March 2025 18:00	Cyprus	18–21	Belgium	Eleftheria Indoor Hall, Nicosia Attendance: 800 Referees: Peretz, Schwartz (ISR)
	Papa 8	(12–12)	Antonissen 6
	1×	Report	1× 3×

---

8 March 2025 18:00	Belgium	33–23	Luxembourg	Eleftheria Indoor Hall, Nicosia Attendance: 300 Referees: Peretz, Schwartz (ISR)
	Antonissen 8	(17–10)	Dautaj 6
	2× 3× 1×	Report	5×

---

9 March 2025 18:00	Luxembourg	21–26	Cyprus	Eleftheria Indoor Hall, Nicosia Attendance: 550 Referees: Peretz, Schwartz (ISR)
	Cilovic 6	(8–17)	Konstantinidou 10
	1× 3×	Report	2× 1× 1×

Qualification phase 2

The group winners of phase 1 will join the remaining teams.

Draw

The draw took place on 20 March 2025. ^{[2] [3]}

Seeding

The seeding was announced on 11 March 2025. ^[2]

Pot 1	Pot 2	Pot 3	Pot 4
France   Sweden   Netherlands   Germany   Montenegro   Spain	Slovenia   Croatia   Austria    Switzerland   Serbia   Iceland	North Macedonia   Ukraine   Portugal   Italy   Greece   Kosovo	Faroe Islands   Finland   Israel   Bosnia and Herzegovina   Lithuania   Belgium

Groups

Group 1

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	France	1	1	0	0	43	12	+31	2	Final tournament
2	Croatia	1	1	0	0	25	17	+8	2
3	Finland	1	0	0	1	17	25	−8	0	Possible final tournament based on ranking
4	Kosovo	1	0	0	1	12	43	−31	0

Updated to match(es) played on 15 October 2025. 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.

15 October 2025 17:00	Croatia	25–17	Finland	Sportska dvorana Zeleni brijeg, Sisak Attendance: 1,100 Referees: Sekulić, Jovandić (SRB)
	Milosavljević 5	(11–8)	Aarnio 9
	1× 4×	Report	1× 5×

15 October 2025 20:45	France	43–12	Kosovo	Le Parnasse, Nîmes Attendance: 2,210 Referees: Hummelgård, Svensson (SWE)
	Toublanc 8	(20–5)	Qorraj 6
	4×	Report	2×

---

19 October 2025 15:00	Finland	v	France	Energia Areena, Vantaa Referees: Dasic, Husomanovic (NOR)
		Report

19 October 2025 17:15	Kosovo	v	Croatia	Palace of Youth and Sports, Pristina Referees: Ilieva, Karbeska (MKD)
		Report

---

4–5 March 2026	Croatia	v	France
		Report

4–5 March 2026	Finland	v	Kosovo
		Report

---

7–8 March 2026	France	v	Croatia
		Report

7–8 March 2026	Kosovo	v	Finland
		Report

---

7–8 April 2026	Kosovo	v	France
		Report

7–8 April 2026	Finland	v	Croatia
		Report

---

12 April 2026	France	v	Finland
		Report

12 April 2026	Croatia	v	Kosovo
		Report

Group 2

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Netherlands	1	1	0	0	42	19	+23	2	Final tournament
2	Switzerland	1	1	0	0	35	19	+16	2
3	Bosnia and Herzegovina	1	0	0	1	19	35	−16	0	Possible final tournament based on ranking
4	Italy	1	0	0	1	19	42	−23	0

Updated to match(es) played on 16 October 2025. 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.

16 October 2025 19:15	Switzerland	35–19	Bosnia and Herzegovina	AXA Arena, Winterthur Attendance: 1,420 Referees: Šniurevičius, Grigalionis (LTU)
	Schmid 8	(19–11)	Demić, Kolašinac 6
	1× 5×	Report	2×

16 October 2025 19:30	Netherlands	42–19	Italy	Maaspoort, 's-Hertogenbosch Attendance: 2,138 Referees: Pétursson, Þrastarson (ISL)
	Vollebregt 9	(22–9)	Fanton, Djiogap Tenguim 3
	1× 5×	Report	2×

---

18 October 2025 20:00	Bosnia and Herzegovina	v	Netherlands	JU Sportski centar Salih Omerčević, Cazin Referees: Marton, Dáné (HUN)
		Report

19 October 2025 18:00	Italy	v	Switzerland	Pala Santa Filomena, Chieti Referees: Rauchs, Linster (LUX)
		Report

---

4–5 March 2026	Switzerland	v	Netherlands
		Report

4–5 March 2026	Bosnia and Herzegovina	v	Italy
		Report

---

7–8 March 2026	Netherlands	v	Switzerland
		Report

7–8 March 2026	Italy	v	Bosnia and Herzegovina
		Report

---

7–8 April 2026	Italy	v	Netherlands
		Report

7–8 April 2026	Bosnia and Herzegovina	v	Switzerland
		Report

---

12 April 2026	Netherlands	v	Bosnia and Herzegovina
		Report

12 April 2026	Switzerland	v	Italy
		Report

Group 3

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Germany	1	1	0	0	34	18	+16	2	Final tournament
2	Slovenia	1	1	0	0	29	22	+7	2
3	Belgium	1	0	0	1	22	29	−7	0	Possible final tournament based on ranking
4	North Macedonia	1	0	0	1	18	34	−16	0

Updated to match(es) played on 16 October 2025. 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.

15 October 2025 18:00	Slovenia	29–22	Belgium	Arena Bonifika, Koper Attendance: 1,000 Referees: Mikelić, Parađina (CRO)
	Fegic 7	(17–8)	Antonissen 13
	1× 2×	Report

16 October 2025 19:30	Germany	34–18	North Macedonia	Schwalbe Arena, Gummersbach Attendance: 2,500 Referees: Nygaard, Primdahl (DEN)
	Behrend, Leuchter 5	(14–8)	Rizoska 8
	2× 2×	Report	1× 6×

---

19 October 2025 13:45	Belgium	v	Germany	Sporthal Alverberg, Hasselt Referees: L. Hardegger, S. Hardegger (SUI)
		Report

19 October 2025 19:00	North Macedonia	v	Slovenia	Boro Čurlevski Sports Hall, Bitola Referees: Vujačić, Kažanegra (MNE)
		Report

---

4–5 March 2026	Slovenia	v	Germany
		Report

4–5 March 2026	Belgium	v	North Macedonia
		Report

---

7–8 March 2026	Germany	v	Slovenia
		Report

7–8 March 2026	North Macedonia	v	Belgium
		Report

---

7–8 April 2026	North Macedonia	v	Germany
		Report

7–8 April 2026	Belgium	v	Slovenia
		Report

---

12 April 2026	Germany	v	Belgium
		Report

12 April 2026	Slovenia	v	North Macedonia
		Report

Group 4

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Montenegro	1	1	0	0	29	22	+7	2	Final tournament
2	Faroe Islands	1	1	0	0	24	22	+2	2
3	Iceland	1	0	0	1	22	24	−2	0	Possible final tournament based on ranking
4	Portugal	1	0	0	1	22	29	−7	0

Updated to match(es) played on 15 October 2025. 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.

15 October 2025 18:00	Montenegro	29–22	Portugal	Bemax Arena, Podgorica Attendance: 1,200 Referees: Yovchev, Yonchev (BUL)
	Jauković 8	(17–11)	Figueiredo 6
	2×	Report	1× 2×

15 October 2025 21:30	Iceland	22–24	Faroe Islands	Ithrottamidstod Hauka Asvellir, Hafnarfjörður Attendance: 950 Referees: Fremstad, Jørstad (NOR)
	three players 4	(11–11)	Mittún 7
	2×	Report	5×

---

18 October 2025 18:00	Portugal	v	Iceland	Centro de Desportos e Congressos de Matosinhos, Senhora da Hora Referees: Altmár, Horváth (HUN)
		Report

18 October 2025 20:00	Faroe Islands	v	Montenegro	Við Tjarnir, Tórshavn Referees: Janz, Sug (GER)
		Report

---

4–5 March 2026	Iceland	v	Montenegro
		Report

4–5 March 2026	Faroe Islands	v	Portugal
		Report

---

7–8 March 2026	Montenegro	v	Iceland
		Report

7–8 March 2026	Portugal	v	Faroe Islands
		Report

---

7–8 April 2026	Portugal	v	Montenegro
		Report

7–8 April 2026	Faroe Islands	v	Iceland
		Report

---

12 April 2026	Montenegro	v	Faroe Islands
		Report

12 April 2026	Iceland	v	Portugal
		Report

Group 5

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Serbia	1	1	0	0	42	33	+9	2	Final tournament
2	Sweden	1	1	0	0	33	25	+8	2
3	Ukraine	1	0	0	1	25	33	−8	0	Possible final tournament based on ranking
4	Lithuania	1	0	0	1	33	42	−9	0

Updated to match(es) played on 15 October 2025. 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.

16 October 2025 18:00	Serbia	42–33	Lithuania	Sportski Centar "Voždovac", Belgrade Attendance: 1,750 Referees: E. Aghakishi, E. Aghakishi (AZE)
	Krpež Šlezak 11	(24–17)	Arciševskaja 9
	1× 6×	Report	1× 3×

16 October 2025 18:10	Sweden	33–25	Ukraine	Estrad Alingsås, Alingsås Attendance: 2,750 Referees: Carmaux, Mursch (FRA)
	three players 5	(16–11)	Rosokha, Shukal 5
	1× 5×	Report	1× 3×

---

19 October 2025 15:00	Lithuania	v	Sweden	Šiauliai Sporto salė, Šiauliai Referees: Radčenko, Pērsis (LAT)
		Report

19 October 2025 18:00	Ukraine	v	Serbia	City Sport Hall, Michalovce Referees: Budzák, Záhradník (SVK)
		Report

---

4–5 March 2026	Serbia	v	Sweden
		Report

4–5 March 2026	Lithuania	v	Ukraine
		Report

---

7–8 March 2026	Sweden	v	Serbia
		Report

7–8 March 2026	Ukraine	v	Lithuania
		Report

---

7–8 April 2026	Ukraine	v	Sweden
		Report

7–8 April 2026	Lithuania	v	Serbia
		Report

---

12 April 2026	Sweden	v	Lithuania
		Report

12 April 2026	Serbia	v	Ukraine
		Report

Group 6

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Spain	1	1	0	0	35	15	+20	2	Final tournament
2	Austria	1	1	0	0	39	30	+9	2
3	Greece	1	0	0	1	15	35	−20	0	Possible final tournament based on ranking
4	Israel	1	0	0	1	30	39	−9	0

Updated to match(es) played on 16 October 2025. 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.

15 October 2025 18:00	Austria	39–30	Israel	BSFZ Südstadt, Maria Enzersdorf Attendance: 526 Referees: Bočáková, Jánošíková (SVK)
	Egger 7	(18–12)	Shaul 7
	4×	Report

16 October 2025 20:30	Spain	35–15	Greece	Port de Sagunt, Valencia, Puerto de Sagunto Referees: Cournil, Lamour (FRA)
	Arroyo 5	(15–6)	Giannopoulou 4
	1×	Report	1× 3×

---

19 October 2025 17:00	Israel	v	Spain	Gopass Arena, Bratislava Referees: Brodić, Hodžić (CRO)
		Report

19 October 2025 17:00	Greece	v	Austria	Municipal Sports Center Lefkovrisi, Kozani Referees: Manea, Illescu (ROU)
		Report

---

4–5 March 2026	Austria	v	Spain
		Report

4–5 March 2026	Israel	v	Greece
		Report

---

7–8 March 2026	Spain	v	Austria
		Report

7–8 March 2026	Greece	v	Israel
		Report

---

7–8 April 2026	Greece	v	Spain
		Report

7–8 April 2026	Israel	v	Austria
		Report

---

12 April 2026	Spain	v	Israel
		Report

12 April 2026	Austria	v	Greece
		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	1	A3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Final tournament
2	2	B2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	3	C3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4	4	D3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
5	5	E3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
6	6	F3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

First match(es) will be played: 15 October 2025. 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 plus the three best-placed teams of the 2024 European Championship. ^[2]

Preliminary round

Group 1

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Poland	1	1	0	0	28	20	+8	2	Semifinals
2	Norway	1	1	0	0	29	27	+2	2
3	Romania	1	0	0	1	27	29	−2	0
4	Slovakia	1	0	0	1	20	28	−8	0

Updated to match(es) played on 16 October 2025. 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.

15 October 2025 18:15	Norway	29–27	Romania	Jotron Arena Larvik, Larvik Attendance: 3,184 Referees: Weijmans, Wolbertus (NED)
	Reistad 10	(16–11)	Grozav 7
	1× 2×	Report	1×

16 October 2025 18:00	Poland	28–20	Slovakia	Hala widowiskowo-sportowa MOSiR w Mielcu, Mielec Attendance: 1,534 Referees: Duplii, Pobedrina (UKR)
	Balsam 10	(15–8)	Lancz 5
	5×	Report	4×

---

19 October 2025 14:00	Slovakia	v	Norway	Gopass Arena, Bratislava Referees: Jakovljević, Kovačević (SRB)
		Report

19 October 2025 18:00	Romania	v	Poland	Polyvalent Hall, Craiova Referees: Fotakidis, Kinatzidis (GRE)
		Report

---

4–5 March 2026	Poland	v	Norway
		Report

4–5 March 2026	Slovakia	v	Romania
		Report

---

7–8 March 2026	Norway	v	Poland
		Report

7–8 March 2026	Romania	v	Slovakia
		Report

---

8–9 April 2026	Romania	v	Norway
		Report

8–9 April 2026	Slovakia	v	Poland
		Report

---

11–12 April 2026	Norway	v	Slovakia
		Report

11–12 April 2026	Poland	v	Romania
		Report

Group 2

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Denmark	1	1	0	0	41	25	+16	2	Semifinals
2	Hungary	1	1	0	0	43	30	+13	2
3	Turkey	1	0	0	1	30	43	−13	0
4	Czech Republic	1	0	0	1	25	41	−16	0

Updated to match(es) played on 16 October 2025. 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.

15 October 2025 20:00	Denmark	41–25	Czech Republic	Spar Nord BOXEN, Nykøbing Falster Attendance: 2,631 Referees: Fabryczny, Rawicki (POL)
	Tranborg 7	(21–12)	Cholevová 8
	3×	Report	2×

16 October 2025 19:00	Hungary	43–30	Turkey	Kanizsa Aréna, Nagykanizsa Attendance: 2,977 Referees: Sekulić, Jovandić (SRB)
	Simon 6	(19–15)	Akgün 6
	1× 1×	Report	1×

---

19 October 2025 17:00	Turkey	v	Denmark	THF Sports Hall, Ankara Referees: Pirvu, Potirniche (ROU)
		Report

19 October 2025 19:00	Czech Republic	v	Hungary	UNYP Arena, Prague Referees: Praštalo, Balvan (BIH)
		Report

---

4–5 March 2026	Hungary	v	Denmark
		Report

4–5 March 2026	Turkey	v	Czech Republic
		Report

---

7–8 March 2026	Denmark	v	Hungary
		Report

7–8 March 2026	Czech Republic	v	Turkey
		Report

---

8–9 April 2026	Czech Republic	v	Denmark
		Report

8–9 April 2026	Turkey	v	Hungary
		Report

---

11–12 April 2026	Denmark	v	Turkey
		Report

11–12 April 2026	Hungary	v	Czech Republic
		Report

Knockout stage

Bracket

	Semi-finals				Final
	21 September
					27 September
	21 September
					Third place
					27 September

Semifinals

21–27 September 2026	A1	v	B2

---

21–27 September 2026	B1	v	A2

Third place game

21–27 September 2026	LSF1	v	LSF2

Final

21–27 September 2026	WSF1	v	WSF2

Qualified teams

Team	Qualification method	Date of qualification	Appearance(s)				Previous best performance	WR [4]
			Total	First	Last	Streak
Czech Republic	Co-hosts	8 March 2024	9th	1994	2024	2	Eighth place (1994, 2002)	TBD
Poland			10th	1996		7	Fifth place (1998)	TBD
Romania			16th	1994		10	Third place (2010)	TBD
Slovakia			4th			2	Twelfth place (1994, 2014)	TBD
Turkey			2nd	2024			Twentieth place (2024)	TBD
Denmark	Top three at 2024 edition	13 December 2024	17th	1994		17	Champions (1994, 1996, 2002)	TBD
Norway							Champions (Ten times) [a]	TBD
Hungary		15 December 2024					Champions (2000)	TBD

Notes

1. Norway have won in 1998, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2014, 2016, 2020, 2022 and 2024.

References

1. "Path to Women's EHF EURO 2026 begins with phase 1 Qualifiers". eurohandball.com. 20 December 2024. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
2. "Draw procedure for 2026 Qualifiers released; new final tournament for EHF EURO Cup". eurohandball.com. 20 March 2025. Retrieved 20 March 2025.
3. "Groups determined for Women's EHF EURO 2026 Qualifiers". eurohandball.com. 20 March 2025. Retrieved 20 March 2025.
4. https://ehfcl.eurohandball.com/media/cfvd5lj3/ehf_womens-four-year-national-team-ranking.pdf