Hungary and Germany eye EHF EURO places as qualifiers resume

The round 5 action begins with seven qualifiers on Wednesday. Of the teams taking the court on day one of the round, Germany and Hungary are the best placed to secure their spots at the EHF EURO 2026, needing only one point and not relying on any other results to do so.

Along with the qualifiers, the Men’s EHF EURO Cup 2026, featuring the already qualified co-hosts and EHF EURO title holders France, continues on Wednesday with two games.

GROUP 1

Lithuania vs Slovenia
Wednesday 7 May, 18:00 CEST, live on EHFTV

• with a perfect record of wins and the maximum points in their account, group leaders Slovenia are already qualified for what will be their sixth straight EHF EURO
• Lithuania are second in the group, with six points, and are in a strong position to secure a second straight participation and third overall in the final tournament — one point from this encounter would do it
• this is the fourth official match between the teams, with two wins for Slovenia, including the commanding 36:25 result in the opening leg of the EHF EURO 2026 Qualifiers, and one for Lithuania
• allowing some rest time for their leaders and considering the long-term goal of developing a broader squad, Slovenia will play with only four members of their usual line-up, with coach Uroš Zorman naming 10 new players
• among those missing for the last qualifiers will be Slovenia’s top scorer in the qualifiers and the second top scorer of the Paris Olympic Games Aleks Vlah, current EHF Champions League title holder Blaz Janc, as well as Borut Mackovsek, Klemen Ferlin, Blaz Blagotinsek and Tilen Kodrin

GROUP 2

Slovakia vs Hungary
Wednesday 7 May, 18:00 CEST, live on EHFTV

• a draw versus Montenegro in round 4 represented Hungary’s first dropped point of the qualifiers; they enter round 5 as group leaders with seven points and need one more point from the two remaining games to book their spot at the EHF EURO 2026
• Slovakia have a slim chance of reaching the final tournament, with four losses behind them and a position at the bottom of the table ahead of this round
• Hungary have not missed the Men’s EHF EURO since 2002; in 2024, they secured their best ranking ever, at fifth — right after recording their lowest ranking, 15th, at the 2022 edition on home ground
• following co-hosting of the Men’s EHF EURO 2022 with Hungary, playing the tournament for what was the fourth time and placing 18th, Slovakia missed the 2024 edition
• Slovakia have beaten Hungary only twice in 14 previous encounters and the sides have played two draws; the reverse fixture in the qualifiers saw a 37:32 win for Hungary

GROUP 3

Bosnia and Herzegovina vs Iceland
Wednesday 7 May, 20:00 CEST, live on EHFTV

• Iceland were the first side to qualify for the Men’s EHF EURO 2026 from this phase, joining the line-up as they extended a perfect run of wins in round 4
• with one ticket from this group locked up, the race is competitive: Bosnia and Herzegovina have two points, as do Greece, while Georgia are just ahead on four; Bosnia and Herzegovina sit third on the table due to a better goal difference than Greece
• after making their debut at the final tournament in 2020, Bosnia and Herzegovina aim to keep their run of participation going and reach what would be their fourth EHF EURO
• the historic balance between the sides is completely equal but short: in 2014, Bosnia and Herzegovina won the first-leg World Championship play-off and the second leg ended in a draw; in the reverse fixture of the EHF EURO 2026 Qualifiers, Iceland were the victors with a result of 32:26
• that aggregate victory over Iceland in 2014 booked Bosnia and Herzegovina their first appearance at a major tournament; they have not made it back to the World Championship since then, while Iceland placed ninth at the 2025 edition in January

GROUP 5

Belgium vs Croatia
Wednesday 7 May, 20:10 CEST, live on EHFTV

• 2025 World Championship silver medallists Croatia are booked for the EHF EURO 2026, holding the maximum eight points in their account; they have won all six previous clashes between the sides, including a 30:23 result in round 1 of the qualifiers
• Belgium sit third in what is one of the most competitive groups, in which all sides have points; they count two behind Czechia on four and are ahead of Luxembourg, also on two
• Belgium are on the hunt for their first EHF EURO participation, after making their major tournament debut at the 2023 IHF World Championship, where they placed 21st out of 32 teams
• Croatia wing Mario Sostaric is among the top 10 scorers of the qualifiers, with 27 goals; he is also the top scorer of the EHF Champions League 2024/25, with 130 goals for Szeged, but was knocked out in the quarter-finals last week
• Croatia are missing several players due to injury, including captain Ivan Martinović

Luxembourg vs Czechia
Wednesday 7 May, 18:45 CEST, live on EHFTV

• both teams are still in the race to follow Croatia to the final tournament, with Czechia second-ranked on the table on four points and Luxembourg fourth on two
• Luxembourg’s round 4 win against Belgium, 27:24, was their first ever in this stage of the EHF EURO qualifiers, which they are playing for only the second time
• across five previous matches, including the clash in round 1 of the qualifiers, Luxembourg have never beaten Czechia; the round 1 result was 23:17 for Czechia
• Czechia are a more experienced side and have appeared in far more major tournaments than Luxembourg: they aim for their 13th EHF EURO berth and have played the World Championship seven times, including in 2025, while Luxembourg have played only the 1958 World Championship
• Luxembourg goalkeeper Mika Herrmann has made the second-highest number of saves of the qualifiers, with 47 at a rate of 33.33 per cent

GROUP 7

Türkiye vs Austria
Wednesday 7 May, 18:00 CEST, live on EHFTV

• Türkiye are one of four teams in the qualifiers with zero points in their account and face a must-win situation to keep their chances alive; their four losses so far have included the 31:28 defeat to Austria in round 1
• Austria are in a tight tussle for the group’s berths at the final tournament, sitting third on four points — just one behind second-ranked Switzerland and three behind leaders Germany
• while Türkiye have never reached a major tournament, Austria have played the last four editions of the EHF EURO and a total of six editions as well as the World Championship eight times; at the 2025 World Championship, Austria ranked 17th
• Türkiye back Doruk Pehlivan has the second-highest number of assists of the qualifiers, with 22, while Austria’s Lukas Hutecek is fourth in this ranking, with 18
• the round 5 and 6 qualifiers will be Austria’s last with coach Aleš Pajovic at the helm; the side remain without key left back Nikola Bilyk, who has been sidelined with injury since the end of 2024

Switzerland vs Germany
Wednesday 7 May, 19:00 CEST, live on EHFTV

• EHF EURO 2024 semi-finalists and Paris 2024 Olympic finalists Germany need just one point from rounds 5 and 6 to lock up a place at what would be their 16th EHF EURO overall
• Switzerland enter round 5 second on the table, with five points, behind Germany on seven
• Switzerland’s only loss in the qualifiers was the round 1 defeat to Germany, 35:26, and they drew against Austria in round 2; Germany also drew with Austria — their only dropped point of the qualifiers so far, preventing them from securing their place at the final tournament at the earliest opportunity
• across nine previous mutual matches, Switzerland have beaten Germany only once, in 1995
• Switzerland goalkeeper Nikola Portner ranks third for most saves in the qualifiers, with 42 stops, while Germany’s Andreas Wolff, who was the All-star Team keeper at the EHF EURO 2024, has made 36 and is joint-sixth in this ranking

EHF EURO Cup 2026

Norway vs Denmark
Wednesday 7 May, 18:15 CEST, live on EHFTV

• Norway are yet to earn a point in the EHF EURO Cup 2026, having lost all four games so far, including a 32:27 result against Denmark in the reverse fixture
• Denmark have four points from two wins and two losses; both defeats were against their rivals in the EHF EURO 2024 final, France
• Denmark won their fourth consecutive world title in January, while Norway placed 10th at the same event; Denmark are also the current Olympic champions
• the MVP of the EHF Finals Men 2024, Denmark’s wing Emil Jakobsen, is the second top scorer of the EHF EURO Cup, with 21 goals
• Denmark coach Nikolaj Jacobsen has chosen to rest the current back-to-back IHF World Player of the Year Mathias Gidsel, as well as Lasse Andersson and Magnus Saugstrup; four debutants have been called up, while Mikkel Møller Løvkvist, who has played two matches for the A team, will be Emil Nielsen’s partner in the goal

Sweden vs France
Wednesday 7 May, 19:00 CEST, live on EHFTV

• France have recorded four wins in four EHF EURO Cup 2026 games, while Sweden have taken two victories and suffered two defeats
• Sweden’s defeats were at the hands of Denmark and France, with a 37:31 result against France in the reverse leg; both of their victories were over Norway
• as with some other teams in this national team week, France are resting key players, including Dika Mem — the side’s top scorer in the Cup — and Ludovic Fabregas
• Sweden welcome goalkeeper Andreas Palicka and EHF EURO 2024 All-star Team left wing Hampus Wanne back after injury, while left back Simon Jeppsson is returning to the line-up for the first time since late 2020
• France are the current title holders in the Men’s EHF EURO, as well as being the bronze medallists at the World Championship in January; Sweden were the bronze medallists at the EHF EURO 2024, where they lost a dramatic overtime semi-final to France

Photos © Kenny Beele (main), Icelandic Handball Federation, Carsten Harz, Dejan Obretkovic, Ole Martin Wold (in order, in-text)