2026 European Men's Handball Championship qualification

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
  4×  Report   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
  2×  Report   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   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×  Report   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×  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
  1×  Report   4× 

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
  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   2× 

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×  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
  4×  Report   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
  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
  4×  Report   5× 

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