Three legends, one EHF EURO favourite

Magnus Wislander (Sweden: IHF Player of the Century, four-time EHF EURO champion, twice world champion, EHF EURO MVP in 2002)

The favourites: This is quite clear. Maybe we should talk about which teams can become runners-ups below Denmark? To be serious, with their outstanding players such as Mathias Gidsel, Simon Pytlick or Jørgensen and the experience in their squad, Denmark are my big favourites to go for gold, thought the European championships have not been their best tournaments in the previous years.

Below them are France, in my opinion — and below those two, many experienced teams aim for the semi-finals such as Germany or Norway.

The major point in the upcoming EHF EURO is the completely different main round groups. In Herning, you will potentially have Denmark, France, Germany, Norway, Spain and Portugal. In contrast, the group in Malmö is much different, which make it easier for teams such as Sweden and Iceland to go for the semis, which will fight for the first two positions with Hungary, Croatia and maybe the Faroe Islands.

The MVP: I think the time for the first ever Danish MVP has come, and Mathias Gidsel is my favourite for the award.

The rising star: Sweden have Nikola Roganović in their squad, but I do not know if he gets that much playing time at this event. Portugal count on many strong talents, not only the Costa brothers. They impressed me at the 2025 World Championship.

Magnus Wislander will cover the EHF EURO 2026 as expert for Swedish radio

Lars Christiansen (Denmark: EHF EURO champion 2008 and 2012, top scorer of the EHF EURO 2008, silver medallist at 2011 IHF Men’s World Championship, EHF EURO bronze medallist 2002, 2004, 2006)

The favourites: If you are four-times world champions in a row and current Olympic champions, then you are automatically the favourites: even more when you play at home. From my head and my heart I am sure that Denmark will become European champions. And the greatest of everything is to win the trophy in your country. Denmark managed this change of generations in a brilliant way.

In the end, they can only beat themselves if they do not take the matches seriously enough. But knowing coach Nikolaj Jacobsen and the players, I am sure that this will not happen.

Maybe France could be the biggest contender. If they perform constantly on 100 per cent, they can become an unpleasant opponent for Denmark. Another team with chances for medals is Germany, they clearly improved and have a really strong and rejuvenated team. Croatia could become the dark horse, they are a classic tournament team, always improving during the competition, mainly when it counts. Playing in Sweden, Sweden have the best chances in Malmö to make it to the semi-finals, and I am really curious about the development of Iceland. From the individual skills and the starting 7 they can go for a medal too, but in previous tournaments, this last step was missing.

The MVP: I am sure that two Danish stars are among the main contenders for the MVP: Mathias Gidsel and Emil Nielsen, maybe even also Simon Pytlick. Besides, Dika Mem is on my list, as he is the leading figure of Barcelona and the French team. Andy Wolff plays the same role for Germany.

The rising star: Those young players from Faroe Islands really impress me, so I choose Óli Mittún. Others could be Axel Månsson (Sweden) or Ian Barrufet (Spain). For me, the Costa brothers are no more rising stars, they already belong to the establishment.

Lars Christiansen is the ambassador for the Danish venue in Herning.

Victor Tomàs (Spain: world champion, three-time EHF Champions League winner, EHF EURO 2014 bronze)

The favourites: Maybe it is a bit boring, but in my opinion, Denmark are not only one, but two steps ahead of the rest, especially when the final weekend is played in Denmark. For me, there is no doubt about the winners.

The only teams which can cause problems to the Danes are France and maybe Sweden. Behind these three, there is a huge number of teams with high ambitions and big chances for the semi-finals such as Spain, Portugal, Croatia and Germany. For Norway, I am not that sure this time, after the injury of Harald Reinkind and the fact that they were not that strong at the 2025 World Championship.

The MVP: I have four names on my list — and I am 100 per cent sure that one of them will finally be the MVP: Mathias Gidsel, Emil Nielsen, Francisco Costa and Dika Mem. My favourite is Emil Nielsen. Depending on how far Spain will go, Sergey Hernandez is another candidate.

The rising star: Definitely the Costa brothers. No other young players can make such a difference. Besides, Spaniard Ian Barrufet can be one of the rising stars. His style of playing is not that sexy as the Costas’, but he is important for the team, with a high scoring percentage and he plays very balanced.

Victor Tomàs is one of the hosts of the EHF’s ‘The Spin’ podcast, which will have daily EHF EURO 2026 episodes.

Photos © Kolektiff Images