Two main round tickets up for grabs on Tuesday

GROUP B

North Macedonia vs Romania

Tuesday 20 January, 18:00 CET, live on EHFTV
H2H: 3-0-3

• if the Macedonians manage to progress to the main round, it will be for the first time since the EHF EURO 2018 that Nikola Mitrevski and his teammates will play in the next phase of the competition
• coach Kiril Lazarov boasts a squad full of players coming from the Macedonian Super League, speaking volumes about the quality of their domestic league; only goalkeeper Martin Tomovski plays abroad, for VfL Potsdam
• captain Filip Kuzmanovski scored 15 goals against Portugal and broke into the all-time top five EHF EURO goalscoring list of the Macedonian national team; he equalled Filip Mirkulovski — now part of Kiril Lazarov’s coaching staff — placing fourth with 62
• veteran goalkeeper Mihai Popescu is set to retire from the national team after the EHF EURO 2026 and the match on Tuesday will be his last in Romania's shirt, 24 years after his debut
• Romania are on zero points after two matches and will not progress to the main round

Denmark vs Portugal

Tuesday 20 January, 20:30 CET, live on EHFTV
H2H: 7-0-0

• a high-octane clash between two national teams boasting electric styles of play and scoring a lot of goals
• co-hosts Denmark recorded their biggest EHF EURO victory against Romania on Sunday (39:24) and are sitting on top of group B with four points and a main round ticket secured
• Denmark denied Portugal a place in the 2025 IHF World Championship final after the 40:27 win in the semi-finals and the "Heróis do Mar" will be eager to avenge that
• this marks António Areia’s 20th EHF EURO match and he can become the Portuguese player with the most appearances in the national team's history at the tournament, if the side progresses to the main round; the experienced right wing is only a couple of caps away from equalling Carlos Resende (22 appearances)
• if Portugal secure their first ever win against Denmark, Paulo Pereira's squad will clinch the top spot in group B and travel to the main round with two points, but their fate also depends on the outcome of the other game in the group

GROUP D

Montenegro vs Switzerland

Tuesday 20 January, 18:00 CET, live on EHFTV
H2H: 0-0-0

• both teams are on the hunt for their first win, but while Montenegro are out of the competition, Switzerland still have the possibility to progress — however, they must take a win to have a chance
• Switzerland have had two tough results: in round 1, they had the opportunity to win but the Faroe Islands drew 28:28 in the last seconds, and in round 2 they again had victory in sight with a nine-goal lead but lost to Slovenia 38:35
• Montenegro were defeated 37:24 by the Faroe Islands in the previous round, and lost their opener to Slovenia, 41:40, in a match that set a new record for most goals in a Men’s EHF EURO game
• this is the first clash ever between Montenegro and Switzerland
• at the end of day four of action at the Men’s EHF EURO 2026, Switzerland goalkeeper Nikola Portner had the joint-most saves of the tournament, 24, alongside the Faroe Islands’ Pauli Jacobsen

Slovenia vs Faroe Islands

Tuesday 20 January, 20:30 CET, live on EHFTV
H2H: 1-0-0

• Slovenia are the group leaders with the maximum four points, ahead of the Faroe Islands on three; the Faroe Islands will progress to the main round for the first time ever if they win, but can also go through with a defeat if Switzerland lose to Montenegro
• Slovenia’s two wins have been memorable: in round 1, they took a late one-goal victory over Montenegro and in round 2 they came back from nine behind to beat Switzerland by three
• Uroš Zorman received a direct red card in the match against Switzerland, but there will be no further punishment for the Slovenian coach
• the Faroe Islands took their second point ever at the Men’s EHF EURO in their first match, with a last-second draw against Switzerland; in round 2, they celebrated their first major championship victory in history, beating Montenegro
• Slovenia and the Faroe Islands have met only once before, at the EHF EURO 2024, when Slovenia took a 32:29 win
• this match features five players who ranked among the top 10 scorers at the Men’s EHF EURO 2026 at the end of day four: Elias á Skipagøtu (18 goals) and Óli Mittún (16) from the Faroe Islands, and Domen Novak, Domen Makuc (both 15 goals) and Blaž Janc (13) from Slovenia

GROUP F

Poland vs Italy

Tuesday 20 January, 18:00 CET, live on EHFTV
H2H: 5-0-1

• both teams are on zero points and it will be a battle for third place in group F; Poland want to end their tournament as they did two years ago, beating the Faroe Islands (32:28) in Berlin, while Italy are hoping for their first EHF EURO win since beating Sweden (29:28) on 4 June 1998
• Italy’s only win in an official match against Poland dates back to May 1999, when they beat Poland during the EHF EURO Qualifiers, 28:25; Poland were victorious in the most recent matches during the EHF EURO 2024 Qualifiers, winning 30:23 and 31:29
• the sides have produced the second (Poland — 33) and third (Italy — 30) most turnovers of the tournament
• the Mengon brothers play an important role in Italy’s attack; they combine for 665 passes — Simone fifth and Marco sixth highest numbers in the competition — but have also produced the most turnovers so far, with nine and 10, respectively
• Domenico Ebner has the fifth-most saves in the tournament (21), while his Polish counterpart Miłosz Wałach is 12th with 16 saves
• Italy right wing Leo Prantner needs four goals to tie his father’s EHF EURO goal count; Jürgen Pranter, who is part of the Italian squad as an assistant coach to Bob Hanning, scored 13 goals at Italy’s maiden tournament in 1998

Hungary vs Iceland

Tuesday 20 January, 20:30 CET, live on EHFTV
H2H: 13-1-8

• the two sides clinched their tickets for the main round on Sunday against Italy (32:26) and Poland (31:23), respectively, and sit at the top of the group with four points each
• they have met eight times at the EHF EURO, with Hungary boasting four wins, Iceland three, while one game ended in a draw; this is the fourth consecutive tournament in which they meet
• Hungary have won two out of the last three clashes against Iceland at the EHF EURO, but lost on home soil in Budapest four years ago (30:31); the sides have already met in Kristianstad once during the 2023 IHF World Championship when Hungary took a 30:28 win
• Ómar Ingi Magnússon is on 92 EHF EURO goals scored and could reach the 100-goal mark on Tuesday; he is currently 18 goals behind Alexander Petersson, who is Iceland’s fifth-best scorer in the EHF EURO history
• Hungary have conceded only 23.5 goals on average in the first two matches and their goalkeeping duo of Kristóf Palasics and László Bartucz is tied for the third most saves in the competition with 27 — Palasics on 21 and Bartucz on six
• while Hungary could tie their longest winning run in their EHF EURO history — three, which was previously achieved two years ago — Iceland could also extend their current streak of four victories, which is a new record set after winning against Poland

Photos © Kolektiff Images