The 15th edition of the M18 EHF EURO will throw off on Wednesday, 29 July, in Belgrade, Serbia, with 24 teams at the start. The competition is a qualification event for the 2027 IHF Men’s Youth World Championship, with 15 teams securing their tickets for the world handball flagship competition next summer.

For the second time in the history of the competition, 24 teams will be lining up at the start, being divided into six groups of four teams each. The top two sides in each group will progress to the main round, continuing their path towards the title.

In Group A, title holders Sweden will face a serious task, as they take on two-time winners France and Slovenia, which finished three times on the fourth place, failing to win any of the semi-finals they played. The team which completes the line-up in the group is North Macedonia.

Several players of the Germany national team which became world champions last autumn at the 1st IHF Men’s Under-17 World Championship will be in the squad for this event, where they will take on hosts Serbia, Italy and Türkiye in Group B.

Perennial contenders Denmark, runners-up at the previous edition, will face fellow Scandinavian side Norway, plus Slovakia and Poland in Group E, while Spain, which were third at the 1st IHF Men’s Under-17 World Championship, will be in Group F, being favoured in front of the Faroe Islands, Austria and Finland.

Portugal and Croatia are favourites in Group C, where they face Czechia and Israel, while in Group D, Hungary will be buoyed by their Under-20 team win in the European competition two weeks ago, as they take on Iceland, Switzerland and Montenegro in a tightly-knit group.

The preliminary round will take place on 29 and 30 July and 1 August, with the main round matches scheduled for 3 and 4 August. Quarter-finals will be played on 6 August, semi-finals on 7 August and the medal matches are scheduled for 9 August.

The top 15 teams in the final standings will secure their tickets for the 2027 IHF Men’s Youth World Championship.

M18 EHF EURO 2026 – preliminary round

Group A: Sweden, Slovenia, France, North Macedonia
Group B: Germany, Serbia, Italy, Türkiye
Group C: Portugal, Croatia, Czechia, Israel
Group D: Hungary, Iceland, Switzerland, Montenegro
Group E: Denmark, Norway, Slovakia, Poland
Group F: Spain, Faroe Islands, Austria, Finland