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2026 European Men's U-18 Handball Championship

15th edition of the European Men's U-18 Handball Championship From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The 2026 European Men's U-18 Handball Championship, commonly referred to as the M18 EHF Euro 2026, was the 15th edition of the EHF European Men's Handball Championship, the biennial international under-18 men's handball championship of Europe organized by EHF. It was will be hosted by Serbia from 29 July to 9 August 2026, marking the first time the event will be held in the country. The final will be in Belgrade.

Host country Serbia
Venues3 (in 1 host city)
Dates29 July – 9 August
Teams24 (from 1 confederation)
Quick facts Tournament details, Host country ...
2026 European Men's U-18 Handball Championship
Tournament details
Host country Serbia
Venues3 (in 1 host city)
Dates29 July – 9 August
Teams24 (from 1 confederation)
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24 teams participated for the second time, following the expansion in 2024. This tournament will act as a qualifier for the 2027 IHF Men's U19 Handball World Championship in an unknown country.

Sweden are the defending champions, having beaten Denmark in the 2024 final in Podgorica.

Bidding process

On 13 December 2024, at a meeting in Vienna, the hosting rights were awarded to Serbia.[1][2] This will be the first time Serbia hosts the tournament, although it previously organised the 2004 edition as Serbia and Montenegro.

Quotes

This is a great victory for our Federation, we are not even aware of how big a thing it is to win the hosting of the European Championship. The organization of this competition will bring a lot of good to Serbia, Belgrade and our handball because we will host as many as 24 countries. Our country has not had this privilege since 2013, when it won its last medal in a major competition. Incredibly, twenty years have passed since the organization of the Cadet European Championship when our country won the gold medal. A year later, we were also world champions. May such success be repeated. I must also point out that this is the only way to bring our handball back to the world map and to get children to come to our sport. We have a lot of hard work ahead of us, but we are ready to push all the boundaries when it comes to organization. We owe a great debt of gratitude to all members of the EHF Executive Board, as well as to the Competition Committee headed by Božidar Đurković

— Ivan Milivojević, president of the Serbian Handball Federation.

Format

The tournament consisted of three phases: The first two were played in a round-robin-groups format. The third phase was played in a playoff format with consolations.

In the First phase, 24 teams were drawn into six groups of four.

  • The top two teams from each group advanced to the Main round.
  • The third- and fourth-placed teams advanced to the Intermediate round.

In the Second phase, all teams were again divided into groups of four, but this time, against the teams that advanced to the same round as them. Each separate round (Main and Intermediate) was played by 12 teams, divided into three groups of four.

  • In the Main round, the top two teams from each group and the best two third-placed teams advanced to the quarterfinals. The other four teams advanced to the 9th–16th place playoffs.
  • In the Intermediate round, the winners of each group and the best second-placed team advanced to the 9th–16th place playoffs. The other eight teams advanced to the 17th–24th place playoffs.

In the Third phase, the teams were divided into three playoff tiers of eight teams each, with each team playing three more matches there. Each of the three playoffs consisted of four quarterfinals, two semifinals, two consolation semifinals, and four final placement matches.

The format changed from the previous edition. This new format was previously adopted in the 2025 women's under age European Championships.[3]

Qualification

More information Competition, Dates ...
Competition Dates Host Vacancies Qualified
Host nation 13 December 2024 Austria Vienna 1  Serbia
Men's 18 EHF EURO 2024 7–18 August 2024  Montenegro 12  Sweden
 Denmark
 Hungary
 Iceland
 Germany
 Serbia
 Norway
 Spain
 Slovenia
 Portugal
 France
 Croatia
 Faroe Islands
 Austria
Qualifiers 31 October – 2 November 2025 Turkey Çankaya 2  Italy
 Turkey
Switzerland Schaffhausen 2   Switzerland
 Poland
Slovakia Šaľa 2  Slovakia
 Montenegro
Luxembourg Luxembourg City 2  North Macedonia
 Finland
Lithuania Klaipėda 2  Czech Republic
 Israel
Close

Venues

The venues will be in Belgrade.[4][5]

Sportski Centar "Voždovac"
Capacity: 4,738		 CCS Šumice
Capacity: 2,000		 Aleksandar Nikolić Hall
Capacity: 8,000

Draw

The draw was held on 24 February 2026 in Vienna.

More information Pot 1, Pot 2 ...
Pot 1 Pot 2 Pot 3 Pot 4
 Denmark
 Spain
 Germany
 Hungary
 Portugal
 Sweden		  Croatia
 Faroe Islands
 Iceland
 Norway
 Slovenia
 Serbia		  Austria
 Czech Republic
 France
 Italy
  Switzerland
 Slovakia		  Finland
 Israel
 North Macedonia
 Montenegro
 Poland
 Turkey
Close

Preliminary round

Tiebreakers

In the group stages (preliminary and main rounds), teams are ranked according to points (2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). If two or more teams have the same number of points, the ranking will be determined as follows:

During the round matches
  1. Superior goal difference from all group matches;
  2. Higher number of goals scored in all group matches;
  3. Alphabetical order.
After completion of the round matches
  1. Highest number of points in matches between the teams directly involved;
  2. Superior goal difference in matches between the teams directly involved;
  3. Highest number of goals scored in matches between the teams directly involved;
  4. Superior goal difference in all matches of the group;
  5. Highest number of plus goals in all matches of the group;

If the ranking of one of these teams is determined, the above criteria are consecutively followed until the ranking of all teams is determined. If no ranking can be determined, a decision shall be obtained by EHF through drawing of lots.

Group A

More information Pos, Team ...
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Sweden 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Main round
2  Slovenia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3  France 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Intermediate round
4  North Macedonia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Close
Source: EHF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) Goal difference.
29 July 2026
12:00		 Slovenia  –  North Macedonia Sportski Centar "Voždovac", Belgrade
(–)
Report
29 July 2026
17:00		 Sweden  –  France Sportski Centar "Voždovac", Belgrade
(–)
Report
30 July 2026
12:00		 France  –  North Macedonia Sportski Centar "Voždovac", Belgrade
(–)
Report
30 July 2026
17:00		 Sweden  –  Slovenia Sportski Centar "Voždovac", Belgrade
(–)
Report
1 August 2026
12:00		 North Macedonia  –  Sweden CCS Šumice, Belgrade
(–)
Report
1 August 2026
17:00		 Slovenia  –  France CCS Šumice, Belgrade
(–)
Report

Group B

More information Pos, Team ...
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Germany 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Main round
2  Serbia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3  Italy 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Intermediate round
4  Turkey 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Close
Source: EHF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) Goal difference.
29 July 2026
14:30		 Germany  –  Italy Sportski Centar "Voždovac", Belgrade
(–)
Report
29 July 2026
19:45		 Serbia  –  Turkey Sportski Centar "Voždovac", Belgrade, Belgrade
(–)
Report
30 July 2026
14:30		 Italy  –  Turkey Sportski Centar "Voždovac", Belgrade
(–)
Report
30 July 2026
19:30		 Germany  –  Serbia Sportski Centar "Voždovac", Belgrade
(–)
Report
1 August 2026
14:30		 Turkey  –  Germany CCS Šumice, Belgrade
(–)
Report
1 August 2026
19:30		 Serbia  –  Italy CCS Šumice, Belgrade
(–)
Report

Group C

More information Pos, Team ...
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Portugal 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Main round
2  Croatia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3  Czech Republic 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Intermediate round
4  Israel 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Close
Source: EHF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) Goal difference.
29 July 2026
12:00		 Croatia  –  Israel Aleksandar Nikolić Hall, Belgrade
(–)
Report
29 July 2026
17:00		 Portugal  –  Czech Republic Aleksandar Nikolić Hall, Belgrade
(–)
Report
30 July 2026
12:00		 Czech Republic  –  Israel Aleksandar Nikolić Hall, Belgrade
(–)
Report
30 July 2026
17:00		 Portugal  –  Croatia Aleksandar Nikolić Hall, Belgrade
(–)
Report
1 August 2026
12:00		 Israel  –  Portugal Sportski Centar "Voždovac", Belgrade
(–)
Report
1 August 2026
17:00		 Croatia  –  Czech Republic Sportski Centar "Voždovac", Belgrade
(–)
Report

Group D

More information Pos, Team ...
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Hungary 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Main round
2  Iceland 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3   Switzerland 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Intermediate round
4  Montenegro 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Close
Source: EHF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) Goal difference.
29 July 2026
14:30		 Iceland  –  Montenegro Aleksandar Nikolić Hall, Belgrade
(–)
Report
29 July 2026
19:30		 Hungary  –   Switzerland Aleksandar Nikolić Hall, Belgrade
(–)
Report
30 July 2026
14:30		 Switzerland  –  Montenegro Aleksandar Nikolić Hall, Belgrade
(–)
Report
30 July 2026
19:30		 Hungary  –  Iceland Aleksandar Nikolić Hall, Belgrade
(–)
Report
1 August 2026
14:30		 Iceland  –   Switzerland Sportski Centar "Voždovac", Belgrade
(–)
Report
1 August 2026
19:30		 Montenegro  –  Hungary Sportski Centar "Voždovac", Belgrade
(–)
Report

Group E

More information Pos, Team ...
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Denmark 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Main round
2  Norway 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3  Slovakia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Intermediate round
4  Poland 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Close
Source: EHF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) Goal difference.
29 July 2026
12:00		 Norway  –  Poland CCS Šumice, Belgrade
(–)
Report
29 July 2026
17:00		 Denmark  –  Slovakia CCS Šumice, Belgrade
(–)
Report
30 July 2026
12:00		 Slovakia  –  Poland CCS Šumice, Belgrade
(–)
Report
30 July 2026
17:00		 Denmark  –  Norway CCS Šumice, Belgrade
(–)
Report
1 August 2026
12:00		 Poland  –  Denmark Aleksandar Nikolić Hall, Belgrade
(–)
Report
1 August 2026
17:00		 Norway  –  Slovakia Aleksandar Nikolić Hall, Belgrade
(–)
Report

Group F

More information Pos, Team ...
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Spain 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Main round
2  Faroe Islands 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3  Austria 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Intermediate round
4  Finland 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Close
Source: EHF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) Goal difference.
29 July 2026
14:30		 Faroe Islands  –  Finland CCS Šumice, Belgrade
(–)
Report
29 July 2026
19:30		 Spain  –  Austria CCS Šumice, Belgrade
(–)
Report
30 July 2026
14:30		 Austria  –  Finland CCS Šumice, Belgrade
(–)
Report
30 July 2026
19:30		 Spain  –  Faroe Islands CCS Šumice, Belgrade
(–)
Report
1 August 2026
14:30		 Finland  –  Spain Aleksandar Nikolić Hall, Belgrade
(–)
Report
1 August 2026
19:30		 Faroe Islands  –  Austria Aleksandar Nikolić Hall, Belgrade
(–)
Report

Intermediate round

Group I

More information Pos, Team ...
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 A3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9th–16th place playoffs
2 A4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3 B3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 17th–24th place playoffs
4 B4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Close
Source: EHF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) Goal difference.
3 August 2026 – Aleksandar Nikolić Hall, Belgrade
(–)
3 August 2026 – Aleksandar Nikolić Hall, Belgrade
(–)
4 August 2026 – Aleksandar Nikolić Hall, Belgrade
(–)
4 August 2026 – Aleksandar Nikolić Hall, Belgrade
(–)

Group II

More information Pos, Team ...
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 C3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9th–16th place playoffs
2 C4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3 D3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 17th–24th place playoffs
4 D4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Close
Source: EHF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) Goal difference.
3 August 2026 – CCS Šumice, Belgrade
(–)
3 August 2026 – CCS Šumice, Belgrade
(–)
4 August 2026 – CCS Šumice, Belgrade
(–)
4 August 2026 – CCS Šumice, Belgrade
(–)

Group III

More information Pos, Team ...
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 E3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9th–16th place playoffs
2 E4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3 F3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 17th–24th place playoffs
4 F4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Close
Source: EHF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) Goal difference.
3 August 2026 – Sportski Centar "Voždovac", Belgrade
(–)
3 August 2026 – Sportski Centar "Voždovac", Belgrade
(–)
4 August 2026 – Sportski Centar "Voždovac", Belgrade
(–)
4 August 2026 – Sportski Centar "Voždovac", Belgrade
(–)

Ranking of second-placed teams

More information Pos, Grp ...
Pos Grp Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9th–16th place playoffs
2 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 17th–24th place playoffs
3 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Close
Source: EHF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

Main round

Group I

More information Pos, Team ...
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 A1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Quarterfinals
2 A2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3 B1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
4 B2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5–8th place playoffs
Close
Source: EHF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) Goal difference.
3 August 2026 – Aleksandar Nikolić Hall, Belgrade
(–)
3 August 2026 – Aleksandar Nikolić Hall, Belgrade
(–)
4 August 2026 – Aleksandar Nikolić Hall, Belgrade
(–)
4 August 2026 – Aleksandar Nikolić Hall, Belgrade
(–)

Group II

More information Pos, Team ...
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 C1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Quarterfinals
2 C2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3 D1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
4 D2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5–8th place playoffs
Close
Source: EHF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) Goal difference.
3 August 2026 – CCS Šumice, Belgrade
(–)
3 August 2026 – CCS Šumice, Belgrade
(–)
4 August 2026 – CCS Šumice, Belgrade
(–)
4 August 2026 – CCS Šumice, Belgrade
(–)

Group III

More information Pos, Team ...
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 E1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Quarterfinals
2 E2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3 F1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5–8th place playoffs
4 F2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Close
Source: EHF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) Goal difference.
3 August 2026 – Sportski Centar "Voždovac", Belgrade
(–)
3 August 2026 – Sportski Centar "Voždovac", Belgrade
(–)
4 August 2026 – Sportski Centar "Voždovac", Belgrade
(–)
4 August 2026 – Sportski Centar "Voždovac", Belgrade
(–)

Ranking of third-placed teams

More information Pos, Grp ...
Pos Grp Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Quarterfinals
2 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9th–16th place playoffs
Close
Source: EHF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

17th–24th place playoffs

21th place match21–24 place semifinals17th–24th place quarterfinals17th–20th place semifinals17th place match
23th place match19th place match

17th–24th place quarterfinals

6 August 2026 – CCS Šumice, Belgrade
(–)
6 August 2026 – CCS Šumice, Belgrade
(–)
6 August 2026 – CCS Šumice, Belgrade
(–)
6 August 2026 – CCS Šumice, Belgrade
(–)

21st–24th place semifinals

7 August 2026 – CCS Šumice, Belgrade
(–)
7 August 2026 – CCS Šumice, Belgrade
(–)

23rd place match

9 August 2026 – CCS Šumice, Belgrade
(–)

21th place match

9 August 2026 – CCS Šumice, Belgrade
(–)

17th–20th place semifinals

7 August 2026 – CCS Šumice, Belgrade
(–)
7 August 2026 – CCS Šumice, Belgrade
(–)

19th place match

9 August 2026 – Sportski Centar "Voždovac", Belgrade
(–)

17th place match

9 August 2026 – Sportski Centar "Voždovac", Belgrade
(–)

9th–16th place playoffs

13th place match13th–16th place semifinals9th–16th place quarterfinals9th–12th place semifinals9th place match
15th place match11rd place match

9th–16 place quarterfinals

6 August 2026 – Sportski Centar "Voždovac", Belgrade
(–)
6 August 2026 – Sportski Centar "Voždovac", Belgrade
(–)
6 August 2026 – Sportski Centar "Voždovac", Belgrade
(–)
6 August 2026 – Sportski Centar "Voždovac", Belgrade
(–)

13–16th place semifinals

7 August 2026 – Sportski Centar "Voždovac", Belgrade
(–)
7 August 2026 – Sportski Centar "Voždovac", Belgrade
(–)

15 place match

9 August 2026 – CCS Šumice, Belgrade
(–)

13 place match

9 August 2026 – CCS Šumice, Belgrade
(–)

9th–12th place semifinals

7 August 2026 – Sportski Centar "Voždovac", Belgrade
(–)
7 August 2026 – Sportski Centar "Voždovac", Belgrade
(–)

11th place match

9 August 2026 – Sportski Centar "Voždovac", Belgrade
(–)

9th place match

9 August 2026 – Sportski Centar "Voždovac", Belgrade
(–)

Championship playoffs

5th place match5th–8th place semifinalsQuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinal
7th place match3rd place match

Quarterfinals

6 August 2026 – Aleksandar Nikolić Hall, Belgrade
(–)
6 August 2026 – Aleksandar Nikolić Hall, Belgrade
(–)
6 August 2026 – Aleksandar Nikolić Hall, Belgrade
(–)
6 August 2026 – Aleksandar Nikolić Hall, Belgrade
(–)

5th–8th place semifinals

7 August 2026 – Sportski Centar "Voždovac", Belgrade
(–)
7 August 2026 – Sportski Centar "Voždovac", Belgrade
(–)

7th place match

9 August 2026 – Aleksandar Nikolić Hall, Belgrade
(–)

5th place match

9 August 2026 – Aleksandar Nikolić Hall, Belgrade
(–)

Semifinals

7 August 2026 – Aleksandar Nikolić Hall, Belgrade
(–)
7 August 2026 – Aleksandar Nikolić Hall, Belgrade
(–)

Third place game

9 August 2026 – Aleksandar Nikolić Hall, Belgrade
(–)

Final

9 August 2026 – Aleksandar Nikolić Hall, Belgrade
(–)

Final ranking

More information Rank, Team ...
RankTeam
1st place, gold medalist(s)
2nd place, silver medalist(s)
3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
Close

References

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