Türkiye, Latvia and Estonia get wins on long road to EHF EURO 2028

Türkiye, Latvia and Estonia are one step closer to securing their tickets for the Men’s EHF EURO 2028 Qualifiers after claiming well-deserved victories in the first leg of the promotion round.

• Latvia boasted the biggest win on Wednesday evening, delivering a strong performance and going into the second leg with an eight-goal lead (35:27)
• despite right wing Francisco Pereira netting 11 times for Great Britain, the hosts could not hold on to their lead and let Latvia have control of the game at half-time (18:15); from then on, it was smooth sailing for the guests, who increased the gap to seven by the 50th minute and enjoyed a hard-fought win
• Latvia will host Great Britain for the reverse fixture on Sunday 11 January at 14:10 CET
• left wing Mathias Rebane shone bright for Estonia and contributed with nine goals to his team’s win against Cyprus
• right from the start, Estonia opened the score through Rebane and kept control all throughout the game, eventually sealing the deal with a four-goal victory (31:27); the second leg will be played in Estonia on Sunday at 18:00 CET
• Bulgaria managed to stay close to their guests and even mounted a comeback in the second half to grab the lead for the first time in the game, 34:33 in the 55th minute; however, the hosts were not able to build on their momentum and allowed Türkiye to score three times in a row and ultimately take a 37:35 win
• Türkiye can seal their spot for the Men’s EHF EURO 2028 Qualifiers in front of their own fans on Sunday, when they host Bulgaria at 14:00 CET
• the three aggregate winners of the two-leg ties will secure their spots to the final phase of qualification for the Men's EHF EURO 2028

Main photo © Bulgarian Handball Federation