This article describes the qualification process for the 2026 European Men's Handball Championship.
Format
Prior to the qualifiers, three teams were automatically qualified:
In phase 1, four teams played a round-robin tournament, with the winner advancing to the Relegation round, with up to four of the lowest-ranked fourth-ranked teams of the 2024 qualification. After that, the qualifiers will be played, in Phase 2.[1]
Qualification Phase 1
Since only four teams participate in this round, no draw was needed, other than the hosting rights.[1][2] Although Cyprus had the hosting rights, it declined and the rights moved to Azerbaijan.
Standings
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Great Britain |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 108 | 61 | +47 | 5[lower-alpha 1] | Relegation round |
| 2 |  Cyprus |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 104 | 74 | +30 | 5[lower-alpha 1] | |
| 3 |  Azerbaijan (H) |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 79 | 96 | −17 | 2 | |
| 4 |  Malta |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 65 | 125 | −60 | 0 |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) goal difference.
(H) Hosts
Notes:
Results
All times are local (UTC+4).
| 13 January 2023 14:45 |
Cyprus |
25–25 | Great Britain |
Baku Sports Palace, Baku Attendance: 600 Referees: Yovchev, Yonchev (BUL) |
| C. Argyrou, Dimosthenous 6 | (12–13) | Edgar 10 | ||
2× 4× |
Report | 1× 2×
|
| 13 January 2023 17:00 |
Azerbaijan |
34–25 | Malta |
Baku Sports Palace, Baku Attendance: 2,200 Referees: Peretz, Schwartz (ISR) |
| Muradov 9 | (18–6) | Gruppetta, Naudi 5 | ||
| 1× 2× |
Report | 1× 3×
|
| 14 January 2023 14:45 |
Malta |
26–47 | Cyprus |
Baku Sports Palace, Baku Attendance: 500 Referees: Peretz, Schwartz (ISR) |
| Seifert 6 | (12–23) | C. Argyrou 9 | ||
| 5× |
Report | 2× 4×
|
| 14 January 2023 17:00 |
Great Britain |
39–22 | Azerbaijan |
Baku Sports Palace, Baku Attendance: 2,100 Referees: Yovchev, Yonchev (BUL) |
| White 11 | (16–8) | Georgiyevski 9 | ||
| 1× 1× |
Report | 2× 1×
|
| 15 January 2023 12:45 |
Great Britain |
44–14 | Malta |
Baku Sports Palace, Baku Attendance: 450 Referees: Peretz, Schwartz (ISR) |
| Pereira 17 | (23–7) | Mercieca 4 | ||
| 2× 2× |
Report | 1×
|
| 15 January 2023 15:00 |
Cyprus |
32–23 | Azerbaijan |
Baku Sports Palace, Baku Attendance: 1,700 Referees: Yovchev, Yonchev (BUL) |
| Dimosthenous 8 | (18–15) | Mammadov 9 | ||
| 2× 1× |
Report | 1× 4×
|
Relegation round
Six teams participated in this round. The winner of the Qualification Phase 1 had a guaranteed place in the relegation round, alongside up to four of the lowest-ranked fourth-ranked teams in the Men's EHF EURO 2024 Qualifiers and the best european team of the Men's IHF 2023 Emerging Nations Championship.[1] The draw took place on 5 July 2023, in Vienna, Austria.[3][4]
Participating teams
| Qualification method | Team(s) |
|---|---|
| Winner of Qualification Phase 1 | |
| Four of the lowest-ranked fourth-ranked teams in the Men's EHF EURO 2024 Qualifiers | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Belgium Kosovo Luxembourg Latvia |
| Best European team at the Men's IHF 2023 Emerging Nations Championship | Cyprus |
Seeding
The seeding was announced on 4 July 2023.[3]
| Pot 1 | Pot 2 |
|---|---|
| Belgium Kosovo Luxembourg |
Latvia Great Britain Cyprus |
Overview
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Latvia |
60–61 | Luxembourg |
32–25 | 28–36 |
| Kosovo |
59–45 | Great Britain |
30–22 | 29–23 |
| Belgium |
66–40 | Cyprus |
30–18 | 36–22 |
Matches
| 11 January 2024 18:40 |
Latvia |
32–25 | Luxembourg |
Valmiera Olympic Center, Valmiera Attendance: 480 Referees: Leszczyński, Piechota (POL) |
| Juzups 8 | (13–13) | three players 5 | ||
1× 4× 1× |
Report | 8× 1×
|
| 14 January 2024 16:00 |
Luxembourg |
36–28 | Latvia |
d'Coque, Luxembourg City Attendance: 1,172 Referees: Caçador, Nicolau (POR) |
| Hoffmann 9 | (21–13) | Geislers 9 | ||
| 4× |
Report | 1× 2×
|
Luxembourg won 61–60 on aggregate.
| 10 January 2024 20:30 |
Kosovo |
30–22 | Great Britain |
Palace of Youth and Sports, Prishtina Attendance: 1,150 Referees: Erdoğan, Özdeniz (TUR) |
| Dedaj 11 | (13–11) | Edgar 6 | ||
| 5× |
Report | 5×
|
| 13 January 2024 14:00 |
Great Britain |
23–29 | Kosovo |
Derby Arena, Derby Attendance: 1,200 Referees: Horváth, Marton (HUN) |
| Plumridgge, Wardle 4 | (11–13) | Dedaj 8 | ||
| 1× 4× |
Report | 1× 6× 1×
|
Kosovo won 59–45 on aggregate.
| 10 January 2024 18:00 |
Belgium |
30–18 | Cyprus |
Sporthal Alverberg, Hasselt Attendance: 1,970 Referees: Madsen, Mortensen (DEN) |
| Glorieux 7 | (12–10) | three players 4 | ||
| 1× 2× |
Report | 2×
|
| 13 January 2024 16:00 |
Cyprus |
22–36 | Belgium |
Eleftheria Indoor Hall, Nicosia Attendance: 200 Referees: Boričić, Marković (SRB) |
| Argyrou 7 | (8–15) | Cadel 6 | ||
| 1× 4× |
Report | 1× 5×
|
Belgium won 66–40 on aggregate.
Qualifiers
Qualifiers will be played between October 2024 and April 2025. Like in previous cycles, 32 teams will be divided into eight groups of four, with the winners and runners-up qualifying for the final tournament, together with the four best third-placed teams which will be determined taking into account only results against top two teams in each group.[5]
Participating teams
| Qualification method | Team(s) |
|---|---|
| Eliminated from the final phase of 2024 European Men's Handball Championship qualification |
|
| Relegation round winners |
References
- 1 2 3 "EHF EURO 2026 road begins with qualification phase 1 draw". eurohandball.com. 12 October 2022.
- ↑ "Cyprus wins right to host EHF EURO 2026 qualification tournament". eurohandball.com. 13 October 2022.
- 1 2 "Draw set for 2025 Men's World Championship qualification". eurohandball.com. 4 July 2023.
- ↑ "Men's World Championship Qualification draw sets up Baltic clash". eurohandball.com. 5 July 2023.
- ↑ "Bid brochure EHF EURO 2026 & 2028". eurohandball.com. 2020.