Seven matches to wrap up round 1 of Men’s EHF EURO 2026 qualifiers

EHF / Sergey Nikolaev

06 November 2024, 11:00

Following the action-packed Wednesday, the opening round of the Men’s EHF EURO 2026 Qualifiers will finish with seven games on Thursday. 14 more teams are set to enter the race for the 20 remaining tickets to the final tournament, which will take place in Denmark, Sweden and Norway.

In this team, there are not many players from the Slovenian Olympic team from Paris. I think this week is the right time for this change of generations. When, if not now? Lithuania and Estonia are tailormade competitors — they are not listed at the top of the world rankings but everyone needs to be respected. Today, everyone plays handball, and if you are not focused, you can quickly have problems.

Uros Zorman

Head coach, Slovenia

We played against Belgium the last qualification so we can say we know their team pretty well. We have to take this game really seriously. Belgium are a really good team, but we have to focus mostly on ourselves. Fix things that need fixing, and I think we will finish this week successfully.

Luka Cindrić

Centre back, Croatia

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GROUP 7

Austria vs Türkiye
Thursday 7 November, 18:00 CET, live on EHFTV

since making their debut at the EHF EURO when hosting the event 2010, Austria have missed only two editions of the tournament, in 2012 and 2016
at Germany 2024, the Austrian side finished eighth, matching their best result at this level
with Spanish coach Dani Gordo at the helm, Türkiye are hoping to qualify for their first major international tournament
in the EHF EURO 2024 Qualifiers, Türkiye finished third in their group behind Portugal and North Macedonia
the teams met eight times in competitive matches, with Austria winning three times and Türkiye twice, and two more games ending in a draw

Germany vs Switzerland
Thursday 7 November, 18:30 CET, live on EHFTV

Germany are two-time European champions, winning the title in 2004 and 2016; they also earned silver in 2002 and bronze in 1998
at their home EHF EURO 2024, Germany were close to another podium finish, but ended up fourth after losing against Sweden in the third-place match
Switzerland are looking for their sixth overall and second straight participation in the final tournament
at the EHF EURO 2024, they claimed just one point in three group matches, ultimately finishing 21st; Germany were one of the teams who defeated the Swiss side at that tournament, 27:14
overall, the German side won seven of their eight duels with the Swiss side, starting from their first meeting at the 1936 Olympics

GROUP 8

Poland vs Israel
Thursday 7 November, 18:00 CET, live on EHFTV

since 2002, Poland have missed only one EHF EURO edition – in Croatia in 2018; they are targeting their 12th overall and fourth straight participation in the final tournament
at Germany 2024, the Polish team failed to reach the main round and ranked 16th overall
Israel only played at the EHF EURO 2002, losing all three games and finishing 14th
Israel’s Spanish coach David Pisonero is also at the helm of BM Atletico Valladolid in his home country
the teams faced each other seven times in competitive games, with Poland winning six times, and Israel once

We know that Israel is a dangerous rival. Israel have several players with experience from the German or French leagues. You have to watch out for the very good central playmaker Yoav Lumbroso, who usually plays in the Champions League for Dinamo Bucharest. We know that we have to focus as much as possible and prepare as best as possible to win this match.

Marcin Lijewski

Head coach, Poland