2026 European Men's Handball Championship qualification

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

Format[edit]

Prior to the qualification, four teams were automatically qualified:

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.
  • 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[edit]

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[edit]

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. ^ a b Cyprus 25–25 Great Britain

Results[edit]

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
Yellow card 4×number 2 in light blue rounded square Report Yellow card 2×number 2 in light blue rounded square
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
Yellow card 2×number 2 in light blue rounded square Report Yellow card 3×number 2 in light blue rounded square

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×number 2 in light blue rounded square Report Yellow card 4×number 2 in light blue rounded square
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
Yellow card 1×number 2 in light blue rounded square Report Yellow card 1×number 2 in light blue rounded square

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
Yellow card 2×number 2 in light blue rounded square Report  1×number 2 in light blue rounded square
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
Yellow card 1×number 2 in light blue rounded square Report Yellow card 4×number 2 in light blue rounded square

Promotion round[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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

Pot 1 Pot 2
 Belgium
 Kosovo
 Luxembourg
 Latvia
 Great Britain
 Cyprus

Overview[edit]

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[edit]

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
Yellow card 4×number 2 in light blue rounded square 1×Red card Report  8×number 2 in light blue rounded square 1×Red card
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×number 2 in light blue rounded square Report Yellow card 2×number 2 in light blue rounded square

Luxembourg won 61–60 on aggregate.


10 January 2024
20:30
Kosovo  30–22  Great Britain Palace of Youth and Sports, Prishtina
Attendance: 1,150
Referees: Erdoğan, Özdeniz (TUR)
Dedaj 11 (13–11) Edgar 6
 5×number 2 in light blue rounded square Report  5×number 2 in light blue rounded square
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
Yellow card 4×number 2 in light blue rounded square Report Yellow card 6×number 2 in light blue rounded square 1×Red card

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
Yellow card 2×number 2 in light blue rounded square Report  2×number 2 in light blue rounded square
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
Yellow card 4×number 2 in light blue rounded square Report Yellow card 5×number 2 in light blue rounded square

Belgium won 66–40 on aggregate.

Qualification Phase 2[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

Group 1[edit]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Slovenia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Final tournament
2  North Macedonia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3  Lithuania 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Possible final tournament based on ranking
4  Estonia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
First match(es) will be played: 7 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.
6–7 November 2024 Slovenia  v  Lithuania
Report
6–7 November 2024 North Macedonia  v  Estonia
Report

9–10 November 2024 Estonia  v  Slovenia
Report
9–10 November 2024 Lithuania  v  North Macedonia
Report

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[edit]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Hungary 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Final tournament
2  Montenegro 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3  Slovakia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Possible final tournament based on ranking
4  Finland 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
First match(es) will be played: 7 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.
6–7 November 2024 Hungary  v  Slovakia
Report
6–7 November 2024 Montenegro  v  Finland
Report

9–10 November 2024 Finland  v  Hungary
Report
9–10 November 2024 Slovakia  v  Montenegro
Report

12–13 March 2025 Montenegro  v  Hungary
Report
12–13 March 2025 Finland  v  Slovakia
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[edit]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Iceland 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Final tournament
2  Greece 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3  Bosnia and Herzegovina 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Possible final tournament based on ranking
4  Georgia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
First match(es) will be played: 7 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.
6–7 November 2024 Iceland  v  Bosnia and Herzegovina
Report
6–7 November 2024 Greece  v  Georgia
Report

9–10 November 2024 Georgia  v  Iceland
Report
9–10 November 2024 Bosnia and Herzegovina  v  Greece
Report

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[edit]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Spain 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Final tournament
2  Serbia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3  Italy 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Possible final tournament based on ranking
4  Latvia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
First match(es) will be played: 7 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.
6–7 November 2024 Spain  v  Italy
Report
6–7 November 2024 Serbia  v  Latvia
Report

9–10 November 2024 Latvia  v  Spain
Report
9–10 November 2024 Italy  v  Serbia
Report

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[edit]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Croatia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Final tournament
2  Czech Republic 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3  Belgium 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Possible final tournament based on ranking
4  Luxembourg 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
First match(es) will be played: 7 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.
6–7 November 2024 Croatia  v  Belgium
Report
6–7 November 2024 Czech Republic  v  Luxembourg
Report

9–10 November 2024 Luxembourg  v  Czech Republic
Report
9–10 November 2024 Belgium  v  Czech Republic
Report

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
Croatia  v  Belgium
Report

Group 6[edit]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Netherlands 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Final tournament
2  Faroe Islands 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3  Ukraine 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Possible final tournament based on ranking
4  Kosovo 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
First match(es) will be played: 7 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.
6–7 November 2024 Netherlands  v  Ukraine
Report
6–7 November 2024 Faroe Islands  v  Kosovo
Report

9–10 November 2024 Kosovo  v  Netherlands
Report
9–10 November 2024 Ukraine  v  Faroe Islands
Report

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
Report

7–8 May 2025 Ukraine  v  Netherlands
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[edit]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Germany 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Final tournament
2  Austria 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3   Switzerland 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Possible final tournament based on ranking
4  Turkey 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
First match(es) will be played: 7 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.
6–7 November 2024 Germany  v   Switzerland
Report
6–7 November 2024 Austria  v  Turkey
Report

9–10 November 2024 Turkey  v  Germany
Report
9–10 November 2024 Switzerland  v  Austria
Report

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[edit]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Portugal 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Final tournament
2  Poland 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3  Romania 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Possible final tournament based on ranking
4  Israel 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
First match(es) will be played: 7 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.
6–7 November 2024 Portugal  v  Romania
Report
6–7 November 2024 Poland  v  Israel
Report

9–10 November 2024 Israel  v  Portugal
Report
9–10 November 2024 Romania  v  Poland
Report

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
Portugal  v  Israel
Report
11 May 2025
18:00
Poland  v  Romania
Report

Ranking of third-placed teams[edit]

The results against the fourth-placed team are omitted.

Pos Grp Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 1 Team 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Final tournament
2 2 Team 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3 3 Team 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
4 4 Team 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
5 5 Team 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
6 6 Team 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
7 7 Team 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
8 8 Team 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
First match(es) will be played: 7 November 2024. Source: EHF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored; 4) draw.

EHF Euro Cup[edit]

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

Standings[edit]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1  Denmark 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2  France 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3  Norway 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
4  Sweden 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
First match(es) will be played: 7 November 2024. Source: [citation needed]
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[edit]

6–7 November 2024 Norway  v  Sweden
Report
6–7 November 2024 France  v  Denmark
Report

9–10 November 2024 Denmark  v  Norway
Report
9–10 November 2024 Sweden  v  France
Report

12–13 March 2025 Sweden  v  Denmark
Report
12–13 March 2025 France  v  Norway
Report

15–16 March 2025 Denmark  v  Sweden
Report
15–16 March 2025 Norway  v  France
Report

7–8 May 2025 Sweden  v  Norway
Report
7–8 May 2025 Denmark  v  France
Report

11 May 2025 France  v  Sweden
Report
11 May 2025 Norway  v  Denmark
Report

Qualified teams[edit]

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 28 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.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "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.
  3. ^ a b "Draw set for 2025 Men's World Championship qualification". eurohandball.com. 4 July 2023.
  4. ^ "Men's World Championship Qualification draw sets up Baltic clash". eurohandball.com. 5 July 2023.
  5. ^ "Bid brochure EHF EURO 2026 & 2028". eurohandball.com. 2020.
  6. ^ a b "Exec takes key decisions for national team competitions". eurohandball.com. 1 February 2024.
  7. ^ "Familiar rivals to meet again in Men's EHF EURO 2026 Qualifiers". eurohandball.com. 21 March 2024.
  8. ^ "Draw procedure for Men's EHF EURO 2026 Qualifiers revealed". eurohandball.com. 11 March 2024.

External links[edit]