Denmark won the third edition of the EHF Women’s EURO Cup, with a 34:30 win against Norway in the final of the competition which took place in Bucharest last weekend.

For the first time, eight teams lined up at the start of the EHF Women’s EURO Cup, due to five countries hosting the Women’s EHF EURO 2026 in December. The competition saw eight teams at the start – the five hosts plus the three medallists from the 2024 edition – divided into two groups of four teams.

The competition spanned for almost a year, starting on 15 and 16 October. Two teams from each group advanced to the Final Four of the competition, and from Group A, those teams were Norway and Romania, with Norway winning all six matches against Romania, Poland and Slovakia.

The teams which qualified from Group B were Denmark (six wins in six matches) and Hungary, with Czechia and Turkiye finishing third and fourth respectively.

The semi-finals saw Norway, the reigning World, Olympic and European champions play against Hungary and Denmark featuring against hosts Romania, with both Scandinavian sides advancing to the final.

With a new-look team, Norway beat Hungary, 27:23, on the back of a 11-goal performance from the IHF Female World Player of the Year in 2023, 2024 and 2025, Henny Reistad. Norway took early control of the match, leading 17:13 at the break, and managed its lead to perfection in the second half.

Denmark limited Romania to only four goals scored in the second half, after a close encounter in the first part of the match, as Helle Thomsen’s side took a 28:20 win, with wings Emma Friis and Trine Østergaard Jensen scoring both five goals.

Norway won the previous two editions of the EHF Women’s EURO Cup, but this time around had no answer in the final against Denmark.

Reistad scored once again 10 goals, reaching 579 goals in 124 matches for the national team, but could not prevent the loss, as Denmark’s goalkeeper, Anna Kristensen, produced an excellent match between the posts, saving 15 shots.

Denmark had a 17:15 lead at the break and the same result was registered in the second half, with Helle Thomsen’s side doubling its gap at the end of the match, 34:30, with Østergaard being once again the top scorer of the team, with eight goals.

In the bronze medal match, Romania took a 33:30 win against Hungary, to secure the last place on the podium.

All the four sides in this Final Four could meet in the main round of the Women’s EHF EURO 2026, which will take place between 3 and 20 December, in Czechia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Turkiye.

24 teams will line up at the start, including the eight participants in this edition of the EHF Women’s EURO Cup, with several other powerhouses like Germany, Sweden, France, the Netherlands or Montenegro competing for a medal.

The winner of the EHF EURO 2026 will be the second team which secures a ticket for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games, after the hosts, United States of America.

Photo credit: Sabin Malisevschi