SUMMARY: Three teams secure EHF EURO 2026 berth; joy for Italy and Portugal

• round 4 of the Women’s EHF EURO 2026 Qualifiers
  • group 1: France vs Croatia 34:14 (19:9); Kosovo vs Finland 27:29 (15:12)
  • group 2: Netherlands vs Switzerland 25:22 (13:12); Italy vs Bosnia and Herzegovina 33:20 (16:8)
  • group 3: Highlight Match: Germany vs Slovenia 33:18 (18:8); North Macedonia vs Belgium 33:28 (17:14)
  • group 4: Montenegro vs Iceland 33:24 (13:13), Portugal vs Faroe Islands 25:23 (15:8)
  • group 5: Lithuania vs Ukraine 25:26 (10:16); Sweden vs Serbia 27:22 (19:11)
  • group 6: Spain vs Austria 34:24 (15:12)
• read the Qualifiers review here (Sunday)
• read the Qualifiers review here (Saturday)
• EHF EURO Cup 2026 continued with round 4: Czechia beat Türkiye 36:24 (17:12) in the Highlight Match, while Norway took a comfortable 32:16 victory over Poland; on Sunday Denmark beat Hungary 31:22 at home, while Slovakia proved no match for Romania (32:19)
• tune in to EHFTV to watch your favourite teams (geo-restrictions may apply) and check out our complete guide on how to follow the games
• Iulia Burnei reported on Saturday; photos courtesy of the home teams

SUNDAY 8 MARCH

20:35

That's it from our coverage, dear handball fans!

We hope you enjoyed this weekend's action and make sure you join as again in April when we conclude the Women's EHF EURO 2026 Qualifiers.

Until then, bye-bye!

20:32

And finally, to recap everything that happened today, here's our review written by Tim Dettmar:

20:22

Qualifiers will end in April with two more rounds left.

20:02

After Norway had booked their semi-final ticket in the Women’s EHF EURO Cup, their neighbours Denmark followed on Sunday thanks to a clear win against Hungary. This means both finalists of the EHF EURO 2024 will take part in the first final tournament of this competition. Meanwhile, Romania are close to progressing after their second win over Slovakia.

Check out Björn Pazen's review:

19:53

That wraps it up for today, but we won't sign off just yet.

First of all, enjoy some of the photos from today's matches, with the French and the Germans celebrating their qualifications for the EHF EURO 2026.

17:16

While we wait for the France - Croatia match to resume, have a look at some of the photos from Prienai and Almere.

13:44

If you haven’t done this already, make sure you tune in to EHFTV to follow all games on Sunday and check out our TV guide to see if geo-restrictions may apply. You can watch our Highlight Match Germany vs Slovenia with English commentary!

We’ve prepared a complete guide on where to watch the Women’s EHF EURO 2026 Qualifiers.

13:33

Today's action starts at 14:10 CET with Lithuania hosting Ukraine. Lithuania are one of five teams without a single point in the Qualifiers, sitting bottom in group 5, while Ukraine enjoyed their first win by beating Lithuania three days ago (30:29).

photo credit: marekf_photo

13:20

Here's the complete preview to get you ready for today's action.

13:00

Unfortunately, one game will not be played this weekend. The European Handball Federation has called off the Women’s EHF EURO 2026 Qualifiers encounter, Greece vs Israel, initially scheduled for Sunday, 8 March in Kozani.

12:50

Elsewhere, Montenegro versus Iceland should be a gripping encounter. On Wednesday, Iceland narrowly won on their home court 28:27 with exceptional individual performances from Elín Klara Þorkelsdóttir and Djurdjina Jaukovic, who scored 12 goals each.

Today in Podgorica it's going to be a high-stakes match. Group 4 is definitely on of the most evenly matched, with Montenegro and Faroe Islands tied at four points and Iceland and Portugal tied at two.

In the other match, Portugal host Faroe Islands. Their reverse fixture this week ended with a 25:21 victory for the home side in Tórshavn.

So, a lot can be decided after today's matches, but also the final decision could go down to the final round in April.

photo credit: Mummi Lu

12:30

Along with Germany and France, Netherlands are also one victory away from securing their EHF EURO 2026 berth.

Earlier this week, they demonstrated a powerful attacking display against Switzerland (39:21) in Kriens and if they repeat that success today in Almere they will celebrate their return to the final tournament for the seventh consecutive time.

photo credit: Foto Wagner

12:19

In group 1 France are also looking to secure qualification with another win. Three days ago they beat Croatia 30:19 and today the two sides meet again in Metz.

France lead the group with six points, Croatia have four, Finland two and Kosovo zero.

photo credit: Jozo Cabraja / kolektiff

12:00

Our Highlight Match features Germany and Slovenia, starting at 15:30 CET in Heidelberg.

Germany lead group 3 with six points and will secure a place at the EHF EURO 2026 with a win. Slovenia follow with four points after the Germans beat them 30:23 in the reverse fixture this week in Celje.

photo credit: ALJAZ MOCNIK

11:40

It's a special day today - International Women's Day! But there's no rest for the women involved in today's matches however, they will be working as hard as ever to try and help their teams reach their goals.

💜 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋 𝐖𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐍’𝐒 𝐃𝐀𝐘 ✊

For all the players, coaches, referees, fans and people empowering to inspire and paving the way for equality for future generations, making handball a source of inspiration 🤾🏻🙌#ehfeuro2026 #IWD2025 pic.twitter.com/X1IgouMaad

— EHF EURO (@EHFEURO) March 8, 2026

11:28

Also, check out all the standings, group by group to see how your team is doing.

11:25

To start off, let's recap what happened on Saturday.

Round 4 of the Women’s EHF EURO 2026 Qualifiers threw off with Sweden and Spain securing places at the final tournament after recording wins against Serbia and Austria, respectively, while North Macedonia avenged their defeat to Belgium with a victory in Kumanovo to move up to third place in Group 3.

Check out all the details right here:

11:15

Hello and welcome to the second day of our coverage of the Women’s EHF EURO 2026 Qualifiers! After a three-game schedule on Saturday, today we have as many as eight matches in store for all of you handball fans.

Stay tuned for the yesterday's review as well as the preview of today's matches.

SATURDAY 7 MARCH

21:35

That's it from us today! The Women's EHF EURO 2026 Qualifiers round 4 returns tomorrow with eight games on an action-packed schedule — after the tie between Greece and Israel was called off and postponed until further notice (read more about it here).

Follow our website for Sunday's running coverage. Until then, we're wrapping up the day with the Qualifiers review, hot off the press. Have a good night!

21:23

Some of our favourite snapshots of the day — and the camera captured some winning smiles!

21:07

What a start to the Women's EHF EURO 2026 Qualifiers round 4! While we're cooling off after these thrilling games, why not take a look at the EHF EURO Cup matches review, as they also brought lots of interesting action today.

16:50

If you haven’t done this already, make sure you tune in to EHFTV to follow all games on Saturday and check out our TV guide to see if geo-restrictions may apply. And good news — North Macedonia vs Belgium comes with English commentary!

We’ve prepared a complete guide on where to watch the Women’s EHF EURO 2026 Qualifiers.

16:45

Spain are the other team with a chance to already clinch a berth for the final tournament, as they welcome Austria in the last Qualifiers game of the day. Head coach Joaquín Rocamora had a dreamy debut with the side, mounting an exceptional comeback in round 3 after being two goals down at the break, and he certainly aims to also make the home fans happy.

Johanna Reichert and Katarina Pandža have recently returned to the Austrian squad, after missing out on the 2025 IHF Women’s World Championship, and they are still trying to get back to maximum level — can they be the boost the team needs today?

16:37

Sweden are riding high on confidence after their away victory over Serbia in round 3, as their perfect streak has propelled them to the top of group 5’s standings — and just one win away from booking their final tournament ticket.

In round 3, an in-form Katarina Krpez-Slezák netted 12 goals for Serbia, but she’ll need more support from her teammates this time around if they want to turn the tide.

The Swedes’ right wing Nathalie Hagman also stole the spotlight in the previous clash, when she scored seven times and celebrated her 1,000th goal for the national team. Witness her artistry!

A special night for Nathalie Hagman 🇸🇪 𝟭𝟬𝟬𝟬 𝗴𝗼𝗮𝗹𝘀 for the Swedish national team — what a historic achievement! ⭐#ehfeuro2026 #behere pic.twitter.com/jD0bWps6GS

— EHF EURO (@EHFEURO) March 4, 2026

16:30

The clock’s ticking and we’re getting closer to the first whistle of the day, so let’s have a quick overview of each game on the schedule.

Belgium made history by clinching their first-ever Qualifiers victory on Wednesday — helped by Munia Smits’ 11 goals — with a narrow 26:25 win against North Macedonia. The latter will do everything to bounce back in this reverse fixture and hope to count on their home crowd to grab some much-needed points, but another loss might just shatter their dreams of making it to the third final tournament in a row.

16:20

As usual, we’re focusing on the Qualifiers matches in our live blog, but let’s not forget that the Women’s EHF EURO Cup 2026 is also underway!

The tournament’s round 4 starts strong with the Highlight Match at 17:30 CET (live on EHFTV with English commentary!), when Czechia welcome Türkiye. The latter are still hoping for their first points in this campaign, after suffering three consecutive losses — the most recent one on Wednesday against the same opponents, 26:34.

Later on, at 18:15 CET, Norway can secure their semi-final berth with a victory over Poland, as they aim to extend their EHF EURO Cup winning streak to 16. Find out more in the preview.

16:10

Warm welcome to all handball fans who are joining our running coverage of the Women’s EHF EURO 2026 Qualifiers! Although it might not be a packed schedule today, Saturday surely has plenty in store for us.

The pressure is on as we are entering the second half of the long journey towards the Women’s EHF EURO 2026 in December, and Sweden and Spain can already book their seats for the final tournament today. In the meantime, North Macedonia and Belgium hope to climb up the standings, as the two sides are currently in the bottom half of the group 3 rankings.

Read our preview to see what to keep an eye on today!