SUMMARY: Home side winning trend continues; Serbia and Netherlands in goal spectacles

• Women's EHF EURO 2026 Qualifiers round 1, day two
• Thursday's results:
  • GROUP 2 
    • Switzerland vs Bosnia and Herzegovina 35:19 (19:11)
    • Netherlands vs Italy 42:19 (22:9)
  • GROUP 3
    • Germany vs North Macedonia 34:18 (14:8)
  • GROUP 5
    • Serbia vs Lithuania 42:33 (24:17)
    • Sweden vs Ukraine 33:25 (16:11)
  • GROUP 6
    • Spain vs Greece 35:15 (15:6)
• recap Wednesday's action and check out the group standings
• Courtney Gahan reporting; all photos courtesy of the home teams

Thursday 16 October

22:27

That brings us to the end of the live blog coverage of day two of Women's EHF EURO 2026 Qualifiers round 1! 

Faroe Islands were the only team to win away in this round. Will round 2 deliver more points for the home sides? We don't have to wait long to find out, as Saturday and Sunday bring us the second round of action on the path to the final tournament in December 2026 — two games on Saturday and 10 on Sunday. 

I leave you with the review of today's EHF EURO Cup matches, with the report on the qualifiers coming up soon.

17:48

Serbia and Lithuania are getting us started at 18:00 CEST, followed closely by Sweden versus Ukraine at 18:10 CEST.

Both Serbia and Sweden are EHF EURO regulars, having been part of every edition since 2006 in Serbia's case and 2002 in Sweden's. Both have also reached the semi-finals, although Serbia recorded their lowest ranking ever in 2024, placing 21st. Sweden finished fifth in 2024 and 2022. 

Lithuania and Ukraine have been more irregular participants in the final tournament. Lithuania have only played it once, while Ukraine were once a steady presence at the EHF EURO before a drought that ended in 2024 when they returned to the event, placing 23rd. 

While Lithuania and Serbia are meeting for the first time ever, Ukraine and Sweden have played each other nine times before, with six wins for Sweden and three for Ukraine. 

17:46

Less than 15 minutes until the starting whistle on tonight's action — let's look ahead to what's coming up. 

Below, read the preview of all six matches. 

17:35

October marks Breast Cancer Awareness Month and we have seen plenty of initiatives from different teams and federations. Poland are currently warming up for their EHF EURO Cup clash against Slovakia wearing pink shirts, as Norway did on Wednesday. 

This live blog will focus only on qualifiers, but you can follow the EHF EURO Cup — for those teams directly qualified for the final tournament — on EHFTV as well, and see all the information on the competition here.

Below, check out Poland's warm-up nod to Breast Cancer Awareness Month and also find two related stories we have published recently as part of the new Her Playground platform — one on breast injuries in handball and one featuring Norway star Camilla Herrem, who was diagnosed with breast cancer earlier this year. 

17:20

Good evening and welcome to day two of the Women's EHF EURO 2026 Qualifiers! Tonight, 12 teams will take their first steps in the race for the final tournament, after an exciting opening to round 1 on Wednesday. 

To get started, recap all of Wednesday's games below, with the live blog and review of the qualifiers, as well as the report on the EHF EURO Cup 2026, where EHF EURO 2024 finalists Norway and Denmark both celebrated wins.