Men's EHF EURO 2026 flash quotes: 17 January
HERNING/OSLO/KRISTIANSTAD – Comments from players and coaches from media calls at the Men's EHF EURO 2026.
Montenegro
Miodrag Ćorsović (MNE) – line player
On the atmosphere in the team following the opening game:
“Actually, the team is still OK. We support each other. We have to stay together if we want to go through in the second group. So now, we have to be focused. We have to stay together and, I don't know, we have to prepare for our game tomorrow.”
On the positives to take forward from the first match:
“From yesterday, there is a lot of positive things, but we have to find what is wrong yesterday and make it better for tomorrow’s game.”
On his expectations for the Faroe Islands:
“We expect a really tough game. There's a lot of supporters of other national team — five, six thousand people from Faroe Islands came here, so, it will be a really good game.”
On whether Montenegro benefit from a hostile crowd:
“Especially, we are from Balkan, you know, these teams — we love it. We love full halls, if it's for you or against you. It's not same, but it motivates you, if they, I don't know, if they hate you and whistle on you and everything. There is only extra motivation for you.”
On stopping the Faroe Islands’ key players:
“We have to prepare for them. There is two best players of this team — [Elias á] Skipagøtu and [Óli] Mittún. So we have to find out how we will fix these problems.”
Milos Vujović (MNE) – left wing
On the feeling the day after the opening game:
“Only one mistake on the end. The feeling is really painful. It's really painful, because we believed that we can win that match and we tried all 60 minutes to improve ourselves, to give our best just to win that game. That is only plan what we had for that game.
"What to say? I don't want to give some comments to the referees. It’s normal that they make sometimes mistakes. But when that happened in the last moments, and that was happening against us, then also it's one thing what makes us sad. But we have to forget that match as soon as possible. And tomorrow, we have one most important match for us. It's important to recover ourselves mentally and physically and to prepare as much as possible for tomorrow.”
On the good things they can take from the first match, despite the loss:
“From that match, we realised some positive and negative things. We will try to change it because the teams, Slovenia and Faroe Islands, they are different in some ways, so we have to change some things, but it's not much time, you know, to think a lot of about that. But we will give our best to fix everything for tomorrow, because as I said, this is the most important game for us — tomorrow.
“In this situation right now, we are the only who has no points. So, tomorrow, it's really important for us. And what we realised yesterday in the game, they have really great support from the tribune, and we will feel like that is everyone against us.
"But we will be prepared because we know how it’s important, support from the tribunes, because when we are playing in Montenegro, we also have that supporters. They’re playing in Oslo like they are playing at home, so it's amazing that fans. I have to say one big respect for them and it's really nice to see that and they just need to continue like this.”
On how they might use the crowd against them as motivation:
“It will be difficult to play tomorrow against them, but I hope that we will stay calm all these 60 minutes and to try their support from the tribunes, just like, to convert and to get on our side — just to feel that emotions and try to recognise that it's only our support. So, we will try everything tomorrow. We know how much that match is important for us, and we will be ready for sure.”
On how Montenegro’s style might be difficult for the Faroe Islands:
“I can see that, on this way, we have some good chance because they are fast players but not too tall. So, we have chance to score some goals from nine metres, 10 metres. We had yesterday a really great Branko Vujović. He scored 11 goals, so it's amazing. That is one way of our chance, where we are looking for.
“They play much during the game this attack, seven-again-six. In that attack, you can get a lot but also you can lose it, so that it's like 50:50. If they are concentrated and if they have good passes, then that can give them results. But also if they have pressure, if they miss some passes, you know that it's changing really fast, so I hope that we can score some goals like an easier way with some fast breaks or fast attacks. So, maybe from the centre, from the middle. So, we will see. We will try everything.”
HUNGARY
Chema Rodríguez (ESP) – Hungary head coach
On the difference between Poland and Italy:
“It was a good match from us yesterday, but it is done, and we will forget it now, as we have another difficult match tomorrow. Italy and Poland are totally different teams with different styles. We need to adapt to that. Italy are a strong team. They play really high and open in defence, so there is pressure all the time. In offence they play the one-on-one very hard, but we hope with our preparation that we are ready for this match.”
On Italy’s playing style:
“When you play one-on-one in attack and a 3:3 formation in defence with almost the same players, normally you have to get tired throughout a match. However, it’s not always like this. Yesterday, it was a bit unreal. Iceland scored seven or eight goals in a row, and then it’s difficult to keep the motivation to continue, but when you are in a close match, I’m sure that they don’t feel that tired. That’s why we expect a really difficult match. They are so good physically, but of course, we hope that at some point they get tired.”
On his plans for the match:
“You know I’m a Spanish coach. I always have different plans from plan A to C. We are lucky to have talented players on the team and can use them in different scenarios. We expect to play one-on-one. For that, players like Egon Hanusz, Gergő Fazekas or Péter Lukács are very good at making use of the spaces, but we will see what will happen tomorrow.”
Richárd Bodó (HUN) – left back
On the lessons from the first match:
“Our defence was very good for almost all of the match. The coach said that we need to use our strong defence and goalkeeping to run more and score easy goals, that’s what we need to learn for the next match. Italy play a very aggressive defence, but if we win our one-on-one situations, we can score easy goals.”
On starting the tournament as Hungary's top scorer:
“I’m so happy. I think I played well and the team won, which is the most important to me. Of course, I’m satisfied with how I played. I hope I can play like that again against Italy.”
On the next match against Italy:
“We already watched the video to prepare for them. We know how they defend in their different defensive formations, and we have some actions that we want to use against them. We are also going to watch the two matches before to know how they play. The key for us will be our defence again.”
On Hungary’s defence:
“It’s easier to defend when you have these two guys in the middle [Patrik Ligetvári and Adrián Sipos] next to you. They are always playing well. We will see how we can stop the fast and small guys, but I think we need to use our basic system. If it’s working like yesterday, we won’t have any big problems, but if they go in and start to run and we lose these battles, we will have a problem.”
Patrik Ligetvári (HUN) – left back
On the first match:
„We have always struggled in opening matches, so we are really happy about how we played and how we prepared for yesterday. Not only in defence, but also in attack. It was almost perfect. We had a great goalkeeper behind us, who saved many shots. Now, we have to continue like this.”
On the next match against Italy:
“They play a different handball compared to us, but they have great players who can play one-on-one and shoot from the outside. I have watched the matches against Spain and Serbia, and it’s really impressive how they’ve improved over the last few years. It will be an uncomfortable match for us.”
On the Hungarian squad:
“We are like a family. Everyone who has come into the team could adapt so quickly. We have been really lucky with that. It feels like the new guys have been playing with us for many years.”
Faroe Islands
Peter Bredsdorff-Larsen (DEN) – head coach
On how he sees the opening match the day after:
“It was a top-level match. We were looking for a performance on the level that is needed in the EURO, so we're very happy with that, because we did a marvellous job. We had tons of good performances by each player, but also by the team. So, all in all, I'm very happy with the game. A very tough game.”
On what parts of the play he was happy with and what not:
“I could point out several things. We are known as a team who are able to produce many goal chances and we did that yesterday. But what in fact is needed in order to become a success at the EURO is that we can perform nice also in defence. Last night was a great example of that, against the international top players from Switzerland. We held them under 40 shots at the goal and that means that we have played very good defensively.”
On defending against Montenegro in the next match:
“It’s a completely different game we have to play tomorrow against a very shooting team and a well shooting team. It's a different task tomorrow. We are already starting to prepare for that, of course, so different game.”
Hákun av Teigum (FAR) – right wing
On the atmosphere in the team following the opening match:
“It's a little bit of mixed feelings considering, if you look at the game as a whole, we may be a little bit dissatisfied that we didn't get both points. But looking at the last five minutes or last 10 minutes then, yes, obviously we're satisfied with even getting one point.
"So, it's a little bit of both, because we had a chance to really have a great start with a possible two points, considering we were leading 19:13 in the start of the second half, where we have a chance to extend the lead. But then we missed some chances and kind of lose momentum.”
On what they can take from the game play-wise:
“Defence has always been our weaker side. Obviously, our seven-against-six is really well and good developed. I think we play with a lot of variation in seven-against-six. I wouldn’t say we have mastered it, but that's our thing to do. But defence has always been our Achilles' heel. But yesterday was really good, especially in the first half — Switzerland only scored 13 goals. So that was a really positive thing, that we really prepared for the matches, how they played. We really executed well.”
On defence and how Montenegro scored 40 goals in round 1:
“It’s always going to be a lot different than Switzerland, because you never really know with this kind of teams, like Montenegro. There's always one player who has a really good day, usually, or several. So, I think it's also depends on the day more — I mean, Switzerland were playing really tactical also, but it's, like, a little bit more on the day, I would say, against a team like Montenegro. Also, like Slovenia, who have very, very good players on an individual level.”
On how he expects Montenegro to respond to the crowd against them:
“I think every team we play in the group is going to be under bigger pressure than in the other groups, just because of our eighth man on the bench, which is the fans, obviously. That also applies huge pressure because it's easier for us, I would say, to gain momentum.”
On how close the group looks:
“I think it's going to be decided — hopefully decided — in the last match, which will be really exciting. It's a really tight and good group. Before the EURO started, I think everyone has an OK chance to advance, obviously Slovenia being the favourites. But it's, as I said earlier, a little bit depending on the day, which team plays or has a better day.”
Teis Horn (FAR) – line player
On how the team is feeling the day after their first game:
“We're a bit tired. Got a bit late. There were many fans in the hall we had to say hello to after the game. But I think everybody is good and we are ready for tomorrow.”
On the positives of the match against Switzerland:
“In the end we can be happy with one point. Obviously, the defence were very good in like 40, 45 minutes. And then they got some goals and we didn't score for, I think, 12 minutes in the middle of the second half. Was a bit tough and let them into the game again. So, overall, we can be happy with one point.”
On the next game, against Montenegro:
“It's going to be a tough game. There's some big players and a lot of physique. So, we have to play fast handball and maybe we can get some fast break goals and get some goals that way.”
ITALY
Bob Hanning (GER) – Italy head coach
On a short night watching the match video:
“I actually watched our match again in its entirety, because it's always good to process the match before going to bed, but after that, I slept quite well.”
On how his team played in the first match:
“We had 14 fewer shots on goal than our Icelandic friends, and if you don't take shots, you can't score goals — that's an old rule. We talked about that, too. We also talked about how we're unable to break out of bad spells. We didn't want to stand too high in defence, but we did so a few times and were then unable to help each other enough.
"Iceland played a very, very good game against us. The result was certainly too high, given that Thomas Bortoli was sidelined with an injury as the only right back, and that the red card left only two left wings and two line players on the bench. Then it's not so easy against Iceland."
On the positive aspects:
“Nevertheless, there are definitely positive aspects. Davide Bulzamini organised the defence very well and repeatedly tried to bring structure to the team. I am delighted that Leo Prantner played so well after four and a half months out with injury. Pau Panitti showed that bringing him to the team was a good decision. We have now shaken ourselves up, and tomorrow we face Hungary.”
On Italy’s next opponent, Hungary:
"If you don't get the Hungarian defence moving, it won't be easy. We have to be bold in front of goal and force them to move. Playing with four back-court players is certainly an effective tactic to achieve that.”
On the importance of the match:
“We knew before the tournament that we would have to beat one of the two big teams to advance. We want to continue developing with the personnel we have available. We have to focus on ourselves and try to make our defence more compact, especially against the strong Hungarian line players. That will be a challenge. We have to take more shots and see if we can improve our tempo a little bit.”
Pau Panitti (ITA) – goalkeeper
On his EHF EURO debut:
“I’m very happy and proud to have made my debut and to have done it with my team. It’s my first official competition with Italy after playing for Spain before. I feel comfortable with them. We have a great team for the future. Of course, it wasn’t the best match because we were losing by a lot of goals, and I think we can play much better. We have to improve and learn from this match.”
On how Bob Hanning convinced him to play for Italy:
“In the beginning, I wasn’t 100 per cent sure to join them. It was a difficult decision. Bob didn’t put a lot of pressure on me. He told me that they wanted me to play for them in the future. I spent the week in Berlin with the team to see how I felt with the team and the Italian shirt. I liked the feeling about the team, they always give 200 per cent in all the matches and all the training, and I’m the same type of person. Finally, I decided to join them not just for the experience but also to help them bring Italian handball to the next level.”
On the Italian team feeling like a family:
“The first days weren’t like this for me because I was new and I only knew two players. After the week in Berlin, I saw the family aspect inside the team, and I feel really good with them. We are not just friends, we are more than that. That’s incredible. I could not have hoped for that, because when you join a new team, normally it’s not like that. That was a big plus to join them.”
POLAND
Jesús González (ESP) – Poland head coach
On the takeaways from the first match:
“I couldn’t sleep last night. I watched the video of our match and thought a lot about the result and our performance. It’s pretty clear what happened: We lost a lot of balls, especially in the seven against six. We conceded five goals into an empty net because of that. The main problem is that we can’t miss so many easy shots.
“When you are behind throughout the match, you start to get nervous. I think our start to the match was really good. Our fast breaks worked well. We tried to surprise them, and we were able to, but if you miss so many shots, it is impossible to win.”
On the positive efficiency on breakthrough attempts:
“We played the seven against six quite well. Sure, we lost some balls, but we were able to create clear situations. We won’t be playing seven against six every time, because you are always under pressure with the potential to lose the ball and the opponent can score easily.
“In the end, stats say one thing, but our emotions say another thing. I want my players to trust in things we have practised. That’s important and has to be done little by little.”
On Poland’s second opponents, Iceland:
“I have been watching their first match. They are a great team with some of the best players in the world, playing in some of the best teams in the Champions League. It’s going to be difficult for us to defend against them. Their attack is impressive. Their one-on-one skills are very good, as well as the game with the line player.
“The problem is that we were focused on the first match, and we won’t have that much time to prepare different things for Iceland. That’s why we try to do simple changes and adapt our current playing style to this match.”
Michał Daszek (POL) – right wing
On improvements after the first match:
“We already had one meeting to discuss what we have to do better in our second match against Iceland. We will have another meeting and training later. There is not a lot of time, but there are things to improve, of course. We had different objectives going into the first match. We were trying to achieve a victory, but we didn’t perform at our best. We didn’t play well enough in many aspects and made too many easy mistakes.”
On the fighting spirit before half-time:
“We had the chance to come back into this match a few times. We closed the gap to three goals but missed some easy chances and penalty shots afterwards. This was decisive for this match. Our shooting was simply too bad. We were not able to show consistency in our shots.”
On Poland’s next opponents, Iceland:
“They improve a lot every year. They have very good players. They have the chance to go to the semi-finals, but it’s a long tournament, and maybe they won’t be as good as they were yesterday. However, it is important to focus on us to play as best as possible. We want to stay close as long as possible, and in handball, there is always potential for surprises.”
SWITZERLAND
Andy Schmid (SUI) – Switzerland head coach
On how he sees the opening match the morning after:
“Still the same. It was a really intense game for both teams. The atmosphere was incredible. Credits to the Faroe Islands. Also to the spectators. It was a great, great experience. In the end, we can talk about a lost point or we can talk about a won point, but six goals behind in the second half — it was a really, really difficult situation for us and then we fought back and that's why, in the end, I think both teams can live with it, with this point, for sure, when you get the draw three seconds before the end.
“In my opinion, when I see it now, after, that we get the passive play after 20 seconds, I'm a little upset about it, but that's the way it is. They did also a good job, the referees, and we take this point and go further.”
On the comeback and what it shows overall about the team:
“This is a question of mentality and that is what we made a really big progress the last couple of years.
“The players believe in our system, the players believe in their self, and that's why this was just great to see, that we fought against many, many things in this game. It was a really difficult atmosphere. It was a really difficult situation and we found the way back in the game, because it was tight, that it’s going the wrong way.”
On the next game, against Slovenia:
“Slovenia, we know as a team, that they were really stable the last couple of years. They played always on a really high level. I like the Slovenian handball really much.
“I think Uroš Zorman was one of the best playmakers in the world and now he's an unbelievable good coach. I have big respect for him also, and that's why we have to be on a really, really high level to have a chance to win.”
On the group and how close it looks:
“It's just like everybody expected. It's four teams (where) everybody has the chance to go in the next. Small details will decide who is going through.”
Manuel Zehnder (SUI) – left back
On how he feels about the opening game the day after:
“I feel good. Of course, it's hard because we had a big chance in the end to get two points, but I think if you see the game in total and we were down by six goals — I think we can be happy with how we did the last 20 minutes.”
On the good things they can take from the match against the Faroe Islands:
“There have been a lot of great things that we can take out of this game. We fight as a team for 60 minutes. We always stick to our plan and we played really, really good together as a team. Everybody played their part well, so I think there's a lot that we can take out of this game.
“Of course, it's hard because we really needed or wanted these two points, but I think that’s sport — in the end, it's seconds or steps away from something big. But that’s OK — we're still fully in the tournament, so everything OK.”
On the match against Slovenia:
“I think it will be the same hard game as yesterday. Slovenia, they, of course, have a lot of injuries but still, they have a great team. A lot of experience in their team.
“We have to fight the same as yesterday. 60 minutes. Stick to our plan and hopefully we can take two points tomorrow.”
On how backs Blaž Janc and Domen Makuc were so dangerous against Montenegro and what he expects defensively:
“They have a lot of great players. Of course, these two, but also (Domen) Novak on the right wing. They have good goalkeepers. They have good defence. I mean, they are also here with a full team that can play on the highest level. So, I think it's not only these two, but of course, they are great players.”
Noam Leopold (SUI) – left wing
On the atmosphere in the team following game one:
“I don't think the atmosphere changed a lot. We know what we want to do. We know what we're capable of, and we're going to continue our process and our journey here at the EURO. So, I think didn't change much, but we will see in training how the atmosphere is really going to be.”
On the positive things in the first match:
“The comeback was really important for us. We showed some character. It could have gone in another direction as well, and that would have been a lot harder to sit here and talk with you now. But I think we showed what we're capable of.
“In the end, we would have loved to take the two points. We had the chance to take the two points. In the end, it's our mistakes that give them to chance to come back or score the equaliser. But in the end, they made a great game. We did our job and we can take a lot of positive things out of this game.”
On the Faroe Islands’ crowd and how he seemed to enjoy them being against him:
“I love playing handball, I love competition and I love a crowd that's a little bit hostile or how you want to call it. But just a great handball game. They make a lot of noise and in the end, that’s the atmosphere you want to play in, if it's for you or against you. Of course, if it's against you, you have a little extra motivation, especially me.”
On the next match, against Slovenia:
“It’s going to be a fight. It's going to be a big, big fight. They have great players. It's a big handful nation. They have a lot of ambition as well. They want to prove some stuff, but we know what we're capable of and we're going to play our best and it's going to be another great handball game.”
On comparing with the last time they faced Slovenia, in a very close World Championship play-off:
“They’re missing some key players, but they still have a great squad. They still have a lot of experienced players that play on an international level. But us, as well, we got a lot better than the last time we faced them, so it's going to be interesting and it's going to be a big fight and a great handball game.”
ROMANIA
Andrei Buzle (ROU) – left back
On the positive things they can take from the defeat against Portugal:
“We knew that it would be a tough game, but we tried to let everything on the court. We tried to get experience out of it, as it is only the second EURO for us, which is a great achievement.”
On whether it is the easiest or the hardest match against Denmark on Sunday:
“It depends on how you look at it. For us it is a match when we face a very strong opponent. Denmark are the big favourites of the competition. We will see how top handball is played and we gain more experience as much as you can.”
On which Danish player they will focus most:
“They are all good. We know that they have the best player of the world, Mathias Gidsel, but for us all of them are good.”
On the expected atmosphere with 15,000 Danish fans in the arena:
“It will be a great motivation to play in a hall like that. It will be an amazing experience for us, we are looking forward to it.”
PORTUGAL
Martim Costa (POR) – centre back
On his injury from the match against Romania:
“Everything is fine, it hurts a bit, but nothing special. Tomorrow I will play, nothing serious.”
On the victory against Romania:
“I am really happy with the win, these two points are really important to make it to the main round. And if I score a lot of goals and help the team, it is always good. I am really happy with the start, now we focus on North Macedonia.”
On the next opponents, North Macedonia:
“This will be a different match, because North Macedonia have a lot of players with big quality in attack. It will be harder than against Romania. They played a really good first half against Denmark. We need to do our job, and if we want to pass to the main round we need to win against North Macedonia. It will be hard, but we have the quality.”
On the pressure on Portugal:
“We are no surprise team anymore, as we showed that we are a really good team with high quality. Another good result and many Portuguese victories would not be a surprise. But of course, there is more pressure on us, but we like this kind of pressure, as it proves the people believe in us.”
On the rejuvenated Portuguese team:
“The base of our team is still there, and the style of the game does not change, as we have four new players in the squad. The new players are a good help for us, and they do not need a lot of time to get into it. They are doing an amazing job, I am really happy with them.”
DENMARK
Emil Jakobsen (DEN) – left wing
On whether the squad is happy with the opening performance:
"During most of the time, yes. It was an amazing atmosphere in the arena yesterday, but from the game perspective it was good, although we have small moments in the game where we didn't play so well, but in the most of the time I'm very happy that all the players got some minutes on the court and got well out of that, so I'm happy."
On the next match against Romania:
" We know Romania is a good team and they come with a lot of physicality. We watched some videos today and I didn't know so much about them, but they have a lot of physicality and we have to be ready in defence and it's going to be a hot game."
On whether it will be easier for them to play now after the successful opener:
"The first game is always a little bit nervous game and we have to get good to start the tournament. It went well and think it will be a bit easier. Now we are through to the first game and we're ready for the whole tournament."
On if they could improve one area against Romania:
"Maybe the moments in the game where we played with too many mistakes and maybe we made too many mistakes in the defence also. We need to be patient and play the whole game good."
SLOVENIA
Uroš Zorman (SLO) – head coach
On how he sees the first match the day after:
“Of course, after the first match, it's easier. We have two points. We got this game and this is most important. Also, the players are healthy. For us, it's the most important thing. And we go forward. Next game is against Switzerland. Again, for us, it’s like we said — step by step, or next final, and we will do the best to win two points.”
On their next opponents, Switzerland:
“Our group is, it’s a strong group. Even if, on the first look, don't seem like that, but each team is more or less similar. For us, the next final, next step, is Switzerland. Maybe they don't have many shooters from the nine, 10 metres like Montenegro, but they are a little bit faster. Also, defence may be a little bit more aggressive, and we need to do this little bit better. Also, our defence a little bit stronger, and this is the key.”
Tim Cokan (SLO) – right wing
On the team atmosphere the day after the opening win:
“It's good because first game, I think it's always the hardest. I think we played really good, especially in attack. We have some things to change in defence also, but I think overall it's good for the first win.”
On the good things from the first game that they want to take forward:
“The team spirit and our attack, I think, were the most important things yesterday in the match. We still have to improve in defence to not get so many goals, but overall, we are happy.”
On the group and how the round 1 matches confirm it is a close one:
“This group, in the beginning, it was already, everybody knows, it was hard — not hard, but it was like challenging, because every team can beat every team. But we go game by game and hope to win everything.”
On the next match against Switzerland:
“We didn't watch the video yet. We have it today. But we are going in full mode, so we have to win.”
Blaž Janc (SLO) – right back
On the close finish in the opening match and what this shows of Slovenia’s mentality:
“I'm really happy and proud of my team. I already said yesterday that I was really happy because of this win, because in the second half we had, like, a really difficult moment and we showed character. We fight 'till the end. And in the end, we showed that we are a really good team and we stay, like, calm till the end. I think that we deserve this win.”
On the game against Switzerland:
“For sure, it will be really hard. We know that. This match is really important for both teams. Today we have free day. We have to prepare really good. We saw the match yesterday. The Swiss showed that it's really good team. They have a lot of good players, so it will be really difficult. But I believe in my team and we have to show again a big fight, a lot of energy and I hope that we will win the match.”
NORTH MACEDONIA
Nikola Kosteski (MKD) – right wing
On yesterday's defeat against Denmark:
"We all know who Denmark are and we were ready to play a good game, but we felt the nerves in the opening minutes. And even though we kept up with them until some point, they upped the tempo in the second half. The fast breaks are their biggest weapon, and we didn't manage to stop them as planned, but that's already a past for us and we are getting ready for Portugal now, our most important match at this EHF EURO."
On areas to improve against Portugal:
"We were good in defence against Denmark, but we lacked fluidity in attack, and that's an area to improve and I believe that we will do that against Portugal. They are fast, but not as Denmark are in my opinion, we are ready and I hope we will delight the Macedonian fans and public."
On missing Nikola Mitrevski and Zharko Peshevski in the opening match:
"We missed their presence, as they have played a lot of major tournaments with the national team and they are very experienced, but they had minor injuries and I believe the coach wanted them to get ready for the match against Portugal, to give us the best chance of securing a win versus Portugal."
