The preliminary round of the Men’s EHF EURO 2026 has concluded in Denmark, Norway and Sweden, with 12 teams making the cut for the preliminary round, while the other 12 sides finishing third and fourth in their respective groups being eliminated.

There were twists and turns, with favourites seeing their bids hampered and reigning World champions and Olympic champions Denmark are one of the teams which were shocked by underdogs.

Denmark – looking for their maiden European title since 2012 to complete their trophy cabinet – started Group B with two clear wins, 36:24 against North Macedonia and 39:24 against Romania, before facing Portugal, in a rematch of their semi-final from the 2025 IHF Men’s World Championship, where Denmark took a 40:27 win.

Backed by 15.000 fans in the Jyske Bank Boxen in Herning, Denmark had one of their worst first halves in recent memory, scoring 11 goals, before mounting a comeback and took a two-goal lead midway in the second half. But with Portugal having two outstanding players in the All-Star centre back of the 2025 IHF Men’s World Championship, Martim Costa, and the Best Young Player Presented by LIDL at the same event, Francisco Costa, they snatched back the lead and went on to clinch a crucial 31:29 win.

Both Francisco and Martim Costa scored nine goals each, erasing the 29:29 draw against North Macedonia, as Portugal will take two points in the main round Group I, which is packed with powerhouses.

 

Another team which will start Group I with the maximum number of points is Germany, after they survived an early scare in the form of a 27:30 loss with Serbia. If Germany lost their last match against Spain, they would have been out, but the runners-up at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games bounced back and dominated Spain, to take a 34:32 win, after a fantastic performance from the 2024 IHF Young Male World Player of the Year, Renars Uscins.

France joined Portugal and Germany as the teams starting the main round with two points in Group I, after clear wins against Czechia (42:28), Ukraine (46:26) and Norway (38:34). Denmark, Spain and Norway will start the main round on zero points, as Denmark face France in a rematch of the EHF EURO 2024 final, with everything on the line for the Scandinavian team.

Marred by injuries, with at least seven players out for this competition, Slovenia delivered a fantastic performance in the preliminary round, in a well-balanced group, making it to the next phase with two points, after wins against Montenegro (41:40), Switzerland (38:35) and the Faroe Islands (30:27).

The Faroese side, in their second appearance at the EHF EURO, secured their maiden win, 37:24 against Montenegro, but the draw against Switzerland (30:30) was their undoing, as Switzerland progressed thanks to a better goal difference (+14) than Faroe (+10).

 

Co-hosts Sweden will start the main round Group II in Malmö with two points, after clear wins against the Netherlands (36:31), Georgia (38:29) and Croatia (33:25), with the 2025 IHF Men’s World Championship runners-up joining the Scandinavian side in the main round.

Another dark horse in the competition is Iceland, which can secure their first top-4 appearance since 2010, as they start the main round with two points, after beating Italy (39:26), Poland (31:23) and Hungary (24:23). The latter side also qualified with wins over Italy and Poland, while Italy ended a 28-year wait for a win, with a 29:28 win over Poland.

Sweden, Iceland and Slovenia start the main round with two points, while Hungary, Croatia and Switzerland are on zero points.

The top seven scorers so far at the EHF EURO 2026 are backs, with Portugal’s Francisco Costa and Georgia’s Giorgi Tskhovrebadze scoring 29 goals each. Filip Kuzmanovski is third, with 28 goals, while Faroe Islands’ Elias Ellefsen á Skipagøtu scored 27 goals and Denmark’s Mathias Gidsel, the IHF Male World Player of the Year in 2023 and 2024, is fifth, with 25 goals.

The six teams which finished last in their groups will now head to the Qualification Europe Phase 2 for the 2027 IHF Men’s World Championship, which will be played in a doubleheader, with the first leg scheduled on 18 and 19 March, and the second leg on 21 and 22 March.

Ukraine will face Slovakia, Poland are due to face Latvia, Georgia meet Israel, Romania play against Türkiye, Serbia measure forces with Lithuania, while Montenegro are playing Finland.

The six winning teams, plus the winners of the ties between Bosnia Herzegovina and Kosovo and Greece against Belgium qualify for Qualification Europe Phase 3, which are due to be played in May and will contain the other eliminated teams from the EHF EURO – so far the Faroe Islands, North Macedonia, Netherlands, Austria, Czechia and Italy.

Credit photo: EHF / kolektiff / Eva Manhart; Anze Malovrh