Preliminary round across three time zones
In the preliminary round, groups A (Oradea, ROU), B (Cluj-Napoca, ROU) and C (Antalya, TUR) will have their matches played at 18:30 and 21:00 hrs local time. The matches in groups D (Brno, CZE), E (Katowice, POL) and F (Bratislava, SVK) start at 18:00 and 20:30 hrs.
During the Women’s EHF EURO 2026, Antalya in Türkiye is two hours ahead of Central European Time (CET), while the two Romanian cities, Oradea and Cluj-Napoca, are one hour ahead of CET.
The matches in all groups have been allocated accordingly, considering the local and the broadcast partners’ interests.
Big clashes throw off the championship
All groups start with the two top-seeded teams playing each other on the first match day, which leads to big encounters such as defending champions Norway playing hosts Romania in group B right at the start.
All groups then finish with matches between the teams, which were seeded in pot 2 playing those of pot 3, increasing the potential likelihood for high-tension encounters, as only the first two teams of each group make it to the main round.
The basic schedule for main round group I in Cluj-Napoca is 16:00, 18:30 and 21:00 hrs, and the schedule for the main round group II is 15:30, 18:00 and 20:30 hrs (all times are local).
Final weekend timings set
The semi-finals at the final weekend in Katowice, Poland, will be played at 17:45 and 20:30 local time/CET on 18 December; the bronze medal match at 15:15 hrs with the final throwing off at 18:00 hrs on 20 December.
Two years ago, at the Women’s EHF EURO 2024, Norway finished first ahead of Denmark and Hungary.
The Women's EHF EURO 2026 is the first European handball championship hosted by five countries. Tickets for all stages of the tournament have already gone on sale. More info at tickets.eurohandball.com.
An illustrated version of the playing schedule is available for download below.
