Five teams, including the teams finishing on the second, third and fourth place at the 2025 IHF Women’s World Championship, secured their tickets for the Women’s EHF EURO 2026, after four of the six rounds scheduled in the Qualifiers.

Germany, France and the Netherlands join Spain and Sweden, as well as the eight teams which have already secured their spot in the competition before the start of the Qualifiers – five hosts plus the top three teams from the EHF EURO 2024.

The Women’s EHF EURO 2026 will be the first edition of the competition to be hosted by five different countries – Czechia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Türkiye – with the top three teams from the EHF EURO 2024 – Norway, Denmark and Hungary – also qualified.

After four rounds of the EHF EURO 2026 Qualifiers, five teams have secured their berths for the final competition, the sides which have started the competition with four wins in a row.

Germany, the runners-up at the 2025 IHF Women’s World Championship, continued their excellent run of form, and secured the top spot in Group 3, with two easy wins against Slovenia, 30:23 and 33:18, as the 2025 IHF Young Female Player of the Year, right back Viola Leuchter, scored three goals in each match.

After their wins against North Macedonia, 33:18, and Belgium, 40:21, Germany made it to the EHF EURO 2026, being mathematically impossible to dethrone from the first place in the group.

France, bronze medallists at the 2025 IHF Women’s World Championship, are the team with the best attack and the best defence so far, therefore the best goal difference between the 24 teams in the Qualifiers, having dominated their opponents and conceded 19 goals at most in the four matches played.

They secured their tickets to the EHF EURO 2026 with two strong displays against Croatia over the past five days, with a 30:19 away win and a dominating 34:14 win in Metz, securing another appearance in the continental competition, where they lost won a medal in 2020, when they were runners-up.

The team finishing fourth at the 2025 IHF Women’s World Championship, Netherlands, secured their place at the EHF EURO 2026 after clinching two wins against Switzerland and topping Group 2. 

After their clear 42:19 win against Italy, followed up by a 39:19 win against Bosnia Herzegovina, the Netherlands dominated Switzerland, with a 39:21 away win and a 25:22 home win.

The Dutch side is undergoing a swift makeover, after players like Lois Abbingh, the 2019 IHF Women’s World Championship top scorer, and Estavana Polman, the MVP of the competition where the Dutch side became world champions, retired from the national team in Rotterdam, after the conclusion of the 2025 IHF Women’s World Championship.

With two wins over Serbia, 29:26 and 27:22, Sweden also made it to the EHF EURO 2026, as the top team in Group 5, while in Group 6, Spain swept their opponents, including clear wins against Austria, 29:24 and 34:24, to secure the first place and book their tickets for the competition.

The only group where no team has qualified is Group 4, where Montenegro have six points, with three wins and a loss, followed by the Faroe Islands and Portugal (two points each) and Iceland (two points), with the battle for the qualifying spots being as tough as ever.

The top two teams in each of the six groups will make it to the EHF EURO 2026, with the best four of the six teams placing third also securing their tickets

Therefore, 13 of the 24 teams which will take part in the Women’s EHF EURO 2026 are now known, with the eight which had already booked their tickets before the start of the Qualifiers playing in the EHF EURO Cup 2026.

The current format of the EHF EURO Cup 2026 is a two-group one, with the top two teams in each group progressing to the Final Four. Norway and Denmark have already sealed their tickets, with four wins, as Denmark beat Hungary twice, 21:19 and 31:22 this week.

In Group A, Romania are second, with six points, followed by Poland with two points and Slovakia with zero points, while in Group B, Hungary and Czechia are tied, with four points behind Denmark and Türkiye are on zero points.

Photo credit: Jozo Cabraja / kolektiff