2028 European Men's Handball Championship qualification

Dates10 January 2025 – May 2027

Teams36

2028 EHF European Men's Handball Championship qualification
Tournament details
Dates	10 January 2025 – May 2027
Teams	36
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The 2028 European Women's Handball Championship qualification tournament is a Handball competition that was played from January 2025 to May 2027 to determine the 20 EHF member men's national teams that will join the automatically qualified teams in the final tournament. Alongside the qualifiers, the EHF Euro Cup also takes place.

A total of 36 EHF member associations entered the qualifying process alongside the four teams in the EHF Euro Cup.

Prior to the qualification, four teams were automatically qualified:

Portugal, Spain and Switzerland as co-hosts;
The best-placed team from the 2026 European Men's Handball Championship, other than the 2028 tournament co-hosts.

The remaining eligible teams contest a qualification tournament to determine the teams securing the remaining 20 places in the final tournament. The qualification tournament consists of three rounds: qualification phase 1, promotion round, and qualification phase 2.

Qualification phase 1:
- Four teams;
- Round-robin tournament format;
- The two top-ranked teams after all matches played advances to the promotion round.

Promotion round:
- Six teams:
  - Qualification phase 1 winner,
  - Four of the lowest-ranked fourth-placed teams of the previous cycle qualifiers round,
  - Best European team at the 2025 IHF Emerging Nations Championship;
- Two-legged tie format;
- Three aggregate winners advance to the qualification phase 2.

Qualification phase 2:
- Thirty-two teams:
  - Three promotion round winners
  - Remaining eight teams eliminated in the previous cycle qualifiers round
  - Twenty teams that participated in the 2026 European Championship, but did not qualify directly to the 2028 final tournament
- Round-robin tournament format: eight groups of four teams;
- Group winners, group runners-up, and the four best third-placed teams qualify for the final tournament.

Qualification Phase 1

Since only four teams participate in this round, no draw was needed.

Standings

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Great Britain	3	2	1	0	92	67	+25	5	Promotion round
2	Cyprus	3	2	0	1	91	67	+24	4	Promotion round
3	Bulgaria (H)	3	1	1	1	78	62	+16	3
4	Malta	3	0	0	3	45	110	−65	0

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.
(H) Hosts

Results

All times are local (UTC+2).

10 January 2025 15:00	Great Britain	37–14	Malta	Palace of Culture and Sports, Varna Attendance: 50 Referees: Bujupi, Bujupi (KOS)
	Pereira 6	(18–7)	three players 2
	3×	Report	1× 4×

10 January 2025 17:30	Cyprus	22–21	Bulgaria	Palace of Culture and Sports, Varna Attendance: 600 Referees: Pirvu, Potirniche (ROU)
	Karkalatos 6	(9–11)	three players 5
	1× 4×	Report	5×

11 January 2025 15:00	Cyprus	26–28	Great Britain	Palace of Culture and Sports, Varna Attendance: 150 Referees: Pirvu, Potirniche (ROU)
	Argyrou 6	(11–15)	Hirel 6
	2× 3×	Report	1× 4× 1×

11 January 2025 17:30	Bulgaria	30–13	Malta	Palace of Culture and Sports, Varna Attendance: 1,000 Referees: Bujupi, Bujupi (KOS)
	Yorgov 9	(13–5)	Harrison 4
	2×	Report

12 January 2025 13:00	Malta	18–43	Cyprus	Palace of Culture and Sports, Varna Attendance: 200 Referees: Bujupi, Bujupi (KOS)
	Harrison, Spiteri 4	(8–18)	Karkalatos 11
	5×	Report	3×

12 January 2025 15:30	Bulgaria	27–27	Great Britain	Palace of Culture and Sports, Varna Attendance: 2,500 Referees: Pirvu, Potirniche (ROU)
	Dimitrov 6	(11–13)	Pereira, Yonish 6
	1× 5×	Report	8×

Promotion round

Six teams participate in this round: the first and seconde of the Phase 1, the three of the lowest-ranked fourth-ranked teams in the 2026 European Men's Handball Championship qualification and the best European team of the 2025 IHF Emerging Nations Championship. It will be held between 6 and 12 January 2026.^[1] The draw took place on 26 June 2025.^[2]^[3]

Participating teams

Qualification method	Team(s)
First and seconde of Qualification Phase 1	Great Britain Cyprus
Three of the lowest-ranked fourth-ranked teams in the Men's EHF EURO 2026 Qualifiers	Turkey Estonia Latvia
Best European team at the 2025 IHF Emerging Nations Championship	Bulgaria

Seeding

The seeding was announced on 24 June 2025.^[2]

Pot 1	Pot 2
Latvia Estonia Turkey	Great Britain Cyprus Bulgaria

Overview

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Bulgaria	64–75	Turkey	35–37	29–38
Cyprus	40–66	Estonia	27–31	13–35
Great Britain	52–75	Latvia	27–35	25–40

All times are (UTC+1).

Matches

7 January 2026 17:30	Bulgaria	35–37	Turkey	Arena Shumen, Shumen Attendance: 1,700 Referees: Manea, Iliescu (ROU)
	Vassilev 8	(14–16)	Yıldız 11
	1× 5×	Report	1× 6×

11 January 2026 14:00	Turkey	38–29	Bulgaria	Başpehlivan Recep Kara Sports Hall, Altınordu, Ordu Attendance: 1,595 Referees: Jović, Arnautović (BIH)
	Yıldız 8	(23–15)	Sv. Dimitrov 8
	2×	Report	3×

Turkey won 75–64 on aggregate.

7 January 2026 19:00	Cyprus	27–31	Estonia	Eleftheria Indoor Hall, Nicosia Attendance: 310 Referees: Mandák, Rudinský (SVK)
	A. Charalambous 7	(12–16)	Rebane 9
	2× 4×	Report	1× 5×

21 March 2026^[a] 15:00	Estonia	35–13	Cyprus	Mesikäpa Hall, Põlva Attendance: 500 Referees: Novykov (UKR), Gatelis ( LTU)
	Jaanimaa 7	(16–5)	Misailidis, Tikkas 3
	1× 3×	Report	1×

Estonia won 60–44 on aggregate.

7 January 2026 18:00	Great Britain	27–35	Latvia	David Ross Sports Village, Nottingham Attendance: 400 Referees: Thiyagarajah, Thiyagarajah (GER)
	Pereira 11	(15–18)	three players 7
	4×	Report	3×

11 January 2026 14:10	Latvia	40–25	Great Britain	Zemgales Olimpiskais centrs, Jelgava Attendance: 980 Referees: Cindrić, Gonzurek (CRO)
	Kalniņš 10	(18–11)	Pereira 8
	1× 7×	Report	1× 5×

Latvia won 75–52 on aggregate.

Qualification Phase 2

Like in previous cycles, 32 teams will be divided into eight groups of four, to be played as round-robin tournaments. The eight group winners and runners-up qualify for the final tournament, together with the four best third-placed teams, which will be determined taking into account only results against top two teams in each group. It will be played between November 2026 and May 2027.

Participating teams

Qualification method	Team(s)
Participated in the 2026 European Championship	Germany Croatia Iceland Sweden France Slovenia Norway Hungary Faroe Islands North Macedonia Netherlands Austria Czech Republic Italy Serbia Georgia Poland Romania Montenegro Ukraine
Eliminated in Qualification Phase 2 for the 2026 European Championship	Greece Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina Lithuania Slovakia Finland Israel Luxembourg Kosovo
Promotion round winners	Turkey Latvia Estonia

Draw

The draw took place on 26 March 2026.^[5]^[6]

Seeding

The seeding was announced on 23 March 2026.^[5]

Pot 1	Pot 2	Pot 3	Pot 4
France Germany Croatia Sweden Iceland Hungary Norway Slovenia	Netherlands Austria North Macedonia Serbia Faroe Islands Czech Republic Poland Italy	Montenegro Georgia Romania Greece Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina Ukraine Lithuania	Slovakia Estonia Finland Israel Turkey Luxembourg Kosovo Latvia

Groups

Group 1

Pos	Team	Qualification
1	Croatia	Final tournament
2	Netherlands	Final tournament
3	Lithuania	Possible final tournament based on ranking
4	Finland

First match(es) will be played: 4 November 2026. 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.

4–5 November 2026	Croatia	v	Lithuania
		Report

4–5 November 2026	Netherlands	v	Finland
		Report

7–8 November 2026	Finland	v	Croatia
		Report

7–8 November 2026	Lithuania	v	Netherlands
		Report

10–11 March 2027	Netherlands	v	Croatia
		Report

10–11 March 2027	Lithuania	v	Finland
		Report

13–14 March 2027	Finland	v	Lithuania
		Report

13–14 March 2027	Croatia	v	Netherlands
		Report

5–6 May 2027	Lithuania	v	Croatia
		Report

5–6 May 2027	Finland	v	Netherlands
		Report

9 May 2027 18:00	Croatia	v	Finland
		Report

9 May 2027 18:00	Netherlands	v	Lithuania
		Report

Group 2

Pos	Team	Qualification
1	Norway	Final tournament
2	Austria	Final tournament
3	Georgia	Possible final tournament based on ranking
4	Turkey

First match(es) will be played: 4 November 2026. 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.

4–5 November 2026	Norway	v	Georgia
		Report

4–5 November 2026	Austria	v	Turkey
		Report

7–8 November 2026	Turkey	v	Norway
		Report

7–8 November 2026	Georgia	v	Austria
		Report

10–11 March 2027	Austria	v	Norway
		Report

10–11 March 2027	Turkey	v	Georgia
		Report

13–14 March 2027	Norway	v	Austria
		Report

13–14 March 2027	Georgia	v	Turkey
		Report

5–6 May 2027	Georgia	v	Norway
		Report

5–6 May 2027	Turkey	v	Austria
		Report

9 May 2027 18:00	Norway	v	Turkey
		Report

9 May 2027 18:00	Austria	v	Georgia
		Report

Group 3

Pos	Team	Qualification
1	Iceland	Final tournament
2	Serbia	Final tournament
3	Ukraine	Possible final tournament based on ranking
4	Estonia

First match(es) will be played: 4 November 2026. 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.

4–5 November 2026	Iceland	v	Ukraine
		Report

4–5 November 2026	Serbia	v	Estonia
		Report

7–8 November 2026	Estonia	v	Iceland
		Report

7–8 November 2026	Ukraine	v	Serbia
		Report

10–11 March 2027	Serbia	v	Iceland
		Report

10–11 March 2027	Estonia	v	Ukraine
		Report

13–14 March 2027	Israel	v	Serbia
		Report

13–14 March 2027	Ukraine	v	Estonia
		Report

5–6 May 2027	Ukraine	v	Iceland
		Report

5–6 May 2027	Estonia	v	Serbia
		Report

9 May 2027 18:00	Iceland	v	Estonia
		Report

9 May 2027 18:00	Serbia	v	Ukraine
		Report

Group 4

Pos	Team	Qualification
1	Hungary	Final tournament
2	Faroe Islands	Final tournament
3	Montenegro	Possible final tournament based on ranking
4	Kosovo

First match(es) will be played: 4 November 2026. 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.

4–5 November 2026	Hungary	v	Montenegro
		Report

4–5 November 2026	Faroe Islands	v	Kosovo
		Report

7–8 November 2026	Kosovo	v	Hungary
		Report

7–8 November 2026	Montenegro	v	Faroe Islands
		Report

10–11 March 2027	Faroe Islands	v	Hungary
		Report

10–11 March 2027	Kosovo	v	Montenegro
		Report

13–14 March 2027	Hungary	v	Faroe Islands
		Report

13–14 March 2027	Montenegro	v	Kosovo
		Report

5–6 May 2027	Montenegro	v	Hungary
		Report

5–6 May 2027	Kosovo	v	Faroe Islands
		Report

9 May 2027 18:00	Hungary	v	Kosovo
		Report

9 May 2027 18:00	Faroe Islands	v	Montenegro
		Report

Group 5

Pos	Team	Qualification
1	Slovenia	Final tournament
2	Czech Republic	Final tournament
3	Bosnia and Herzegovina	Possible final tournament based on ranking
4	Israel

First match(es) will be played: 4 November 2026. 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.

4–5 November 2026	Slovenia	v	Bosnia and Herzegovina
		Report

4–5 November 2026	Czech Republic	v	Israel
		Report

7–8 November 2026	Israel	v	Slovenia
		Report

7–8 November 2026	Bosnia and Herzegovina	v	Czech Republic
		Report

10–11 March 2027	Czech Republic	v	Slovenia
		Report

10–11 March 2027	Israel	v	Bosnia and Herzegovina
		Report

13–14 March 2027	Slovenia	v	Czech Republic
		Report

13–14 March 2027	Bosnia and Herzegovina	v	Israel
		Report

5–6 May 2027	Bosnia and Herzegovina	v	Slovenia
		Report

5–6 May 2027	Israel	v	Czech Republic
		Report

9 May 2027 18:00	Slovenia	v	Israel
		Report

9 May 2027 18:00	Czech Republic	v	Bosnia and Herzegovina
		Report

Group 6

Pos	Team	Qualification
1	France	Final tournament
2	Poland	Final tournament
3	Romania	Possible final tournament based on ranking
4	Latvia

First match(es) will be played: 4 November 2026. 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.

4–5 November 2026	France	v	Romania
		Report

4–5 November 2026	Poland	v	Latvia
		Report

7–8 November 2026	Latvia	v	France
		Report

7–8 November 2026	Romania	v	Poland
		Report

10–11 March 2027	Poland	v	France
		Report

10–11 March 2027	Latvia	v	Romania
		Report

13–14 March 2027	France	v	Poland
		Report

13–14 March 2027	Romania	v	Latvia
		Report

5–6 May 2027	Romania	v	France
		Report

5–6 May 2027	Latvia	v	Poland
		Report

9 May 2027 18:00	France	v	Latvia
		Report

9 May 2027 18:00	Poland	v	Romania
		Report

Group 7

Pos	Team	Qualification
1	Germany	Final tournament
2	Italy	Final tournament
3	Belgium	Possible final tournament based on ranking
4	Slovakia

First match(es) will be played: 4 November 2026. 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.

4–5 November 2026	Germany	v	Belgium
		Report

4–5 November 2026	Italy	v	Slovakia
		Report

7–8 November 2026	Slovakia	v	Germany
		Report

7–8 November 2026	Belgium	v	Italy
		Report

10–11 March 2027	Italy	v	Germany
		Report

10–11 March 2027	Slovakia	v	Belgium
		Report

13–14 March 2027	Germany	v	Italy
		Report

13–14 March 2027	Belgium	v	Slovakia
		Report

5–6 May 2027	Belgium	v	Germany
		Report

5–6 May 2027	Slovakia	v	Italy
		Report

9 May 2027 18:00	Germany	v	Slovakia
		Report

9 May 2027 18:00	Italy	v	Belgium
		Report

Group 8

Pos	Team	Qualification
1	Sweden	Final tournament
2	North Macedonia	Final tournament
3	Greece	Possible final tournament based on ranking
4	Luxembourg

First match(es) will be played: 4 November 2026. 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.

4–5 November 2026	Sweden	v	Greece
		Report

4–5 November 2026	North Macedonia	v	Luxembourg
		Report

7–8 November 2026	Luxembourg	v	Sweden
		Report

7–8 November 2026	Greece	v	North Macedonia
		Report

10–11 March 2027	North Macedonia	v	Sweden
		Report

10–11 March 2027	Luxembourg	v	Greece
		Report

13–14 March 2027	Sweden	v	North Macedonia
		Report

13–14 March 2027	Greece	v	Luxembourg
		Report

5–6 May 2027	Greece	v	Sweden
		Report

5–6 May 2027	Luxembourg	v	North Macedonia
		Report

9 May 2027 18:00	Sweden	v	Luxembourg
		Report

9 May 2027 18:00	North Macedonia	v	Greece
		Report

Ranking of third-placed teams

The results against the fourth-placed team are omitted.

Pos	Grp	Team	Qualification
1	1	Team 1	Final tournament
2	2	Team 2
3	3	Team 3
4	4	Team 4
5	5	Team 5
6	6	Team 6
7	7	Team 7
8	8	Team 8

First match(es) will be played: 4 November 2026. Source: EHF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored; 4) draw.

EHF Euro Cup

2028 EHF Euro Cup
Tournament details
Dates	November 2026 – May 2027
Teams	4 (from 1 confederation)
← Previous Next →

The EHF Euro Cup will take place for the fifth time and is scheduled to be contested by the 2028 co-hosts Portugal, Spain and Switzerland, plus the defending champions, Denmark. Like every other edition, four teams will participate.

Composition of teams

Team	Qualification method	Date of qualification	Appearance(s)				Previous best performance
Team	Qualification method	Date of qualification	Total	First	Last	Streak	Previous best performance
Portugal	Co-hosts	20 November 2021	1st	Debut
Spain			4th	2020	2024	1	Champions (2020)
Switzerland			1st	Debut
Denmark	2026 champions	1 February 2026	3rd	2024	2026	3	Champions (2024)

Standings

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Denmark	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2	Portugal	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	Spain	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4	Switzerland	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

First match(es) will be played: 4 November 2026. 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.

4–5 November 2026	Denmark	v	Spain
		Report

4–5 November 2026	Portugal	v	Switzerland
		Report

7–8 November 2026	Switzerland	v	Denmark
		Report

7–8 November 2026	Spain	v	Portugal
		Report

10–11 March 2027	Portugal	v	Denmark
		Report

10–11 March 2027	Switzerland	v	Spain
		Report

13–14 March 2027	Denmark	v	Portugal
		Report

13–14 March 2027	Spain	v	Switzerland
		Report

5–6 May 2027	Spain	v	Denmark
		Report

5–6 May 2027	Switzerland	v	Portugal
		Report

9 May 2027	Denmark	v	Switzerland
		Report

9 May 2027	Portugal	v	Spain
		Report

Qualified teams

Team	Qualification method	Date of qualification	Appearance(s)				Previous best performance^[b]	Rank^[7]
Team	Qualification method	Date of qualification	Total	First	Last	Streak	Previous best performance^[b]	Rank^[7]
Portugal	Host nation	20 November 2021	10th	1994	2026	5	Fifth place (2026)	TBD
Spain			18th	1994		18	Champions (2018, 2020)	TBD
Switzerland			7th	2002		3	Twelfth place (2004)	TBD
Denmark	Defending champions	1 February 2026	17th	1994		15	Champions (2008, 2012, 2026)	TBD

2028 European Men's Handball Championship qualification

Qualification Phase 1

Standings

Results

Promotion round

Participating teams

Seeding

Overview

Matches

Qualification Phase 2

Participating teams

Draw

Seeding

Groups

Group 1

Group 2

Group 3

Group 4

Group 5

Group 6

Group 7

Group 8

Ranking of third-placed teams

EHF Euro Cup

Composition of teams

Standings

Qualified teams

Notes

References

External links

Related Articles

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