Men's EHF EURO 2026 flash quotes: 16 January

HERNING/OSLO/MALMÖ – Comments from players and coaches from media calls at the Men's EHF EURO 2026.

NORWAY

Jonas Wille (NOR) – Norway head coach

On his team’s performance against Ukraine:

“First games are always tricky, we saw that at the World Championship last year. And in this context, I am really happy of the performance we delivered. Other positive is that the whole squad was able to play, to gain confidence, that will be very important for the rest of the group phase.”

On the performance of his less experienced players:

“I am impressed actually, they all acted as if this was a normal game. This is part of the mentality that I want to give my team and my players. I want them to be confident in what they do, but also to be really aware that they can’t be too confident otherwise they will fall.

“The atmosphere within the team helps, as everyone is treating everyone as part of the family. There is a lot of positive energy within the team at the minute.”

On whether his players are already thinking about the game against France:

“I am 100 per cent sure they are not. We are aware that Czechia, if we don’t take them seriously, they will show us no mercy. We are not a team that can go into our game, hands in our pockets and think we can win. That does not happen, and I have repeated that to my players many time. We must be confident in what we can do, our abilities, but everything will come to us if we are focus and we take things seriously.”

On the fine line between confidence and over-confidence:

“It’s a battle for me as a coach and for the staff. But since we have been through not-so-good phases in the last few years, I guess it helps us. It has been a process to make the players accept that just because they are Norway, they are not going to win every game easily. But the recent past has been crucial in showing them that they have to work hard to win games, that they have to have ambition and humility at the same time.”

Thomas Solstad (NOR) – line player

On the first game against Ukraine:

“We are really happy about the way we played and the way we were able to win. Of course, not everything was perfect, but we are overall satisfied. At half-time, in the locker room, we told ourselves that we can not take our foot off the pedal, that we had to keep playing with the same intensity. And we managed to, it helped us take even more confidence.”

On finding their rhythm so easily:

“I would not say I am surprised, maybe more relieved. In the preparation, we were able to play really good against Denmark so it’s no surprise we can play good. But then, doing it for the first game at the EHF EURO might be a different task. But we all managed to do it well.”

On using his experience to help the younger team members:

“Through a lot of talking, a lot of moments spent together. We play a lot of games together, cards, darts, table tennis.

“I’m not saying playing cards helps you on the court, but it’s better to be together than to stay alone in our rooms watching Netflix. There is a great feeling among this team, everyone is really helping each other at the moment.”

On what he told his less experienced teammates:

“I did not tell them anything specifically, more just to play as if it was normal. Play as you know how to was what I told them.”

On the support Norway got from their fans on Thursday:

“It was great, of course, to see so many people in the stands to support us. There will be even more tomorrow and it’s already sold out on Monday, so we are really excited.”

On taking the time to thank the fans after the games:

“It’s important to remember where we come from. I was this 8-year-old kid who was waiting for the Norway players to give me a high-five after the game, so it feels normal to do it. The fans take two hours of their time, sometimes they travel, they pay money to see us, it’s only normal we can take 15 minutes to have selfies and sign autographs. It’s actually normal for us, we are not pushed to do it.”

On the game on Saturday against Czechia:

“We expect a tough game, Czechia are a more physical team than Ukraine. We know we won’t score that many fast breaks, for example. We will have to focus on the defence to make things easy on ourselves, just like we did yesterday.”

On the risk of thinking about the game against France instead of Ukraine:

“No risk at all. We told ourselves before the start of the tournament that we would think about the first two games, before moving to France. And that is exactly what we are going right now. We have this kind of underdog mentality that keeps us grounded, we know that we are not going to win games if we are not 100 per cent focused.”

Robin Haug (NOR) – goalkeeper

On his first game in a major tournament with Norway:

“That was a lot of emotions, a lot of close friends were in the stands and there was a lot going on in my head during the national anthem. It was special, but it was fun as well. The body was definitely shaking, but the game turned out well, and it’s always a little less pressure when you enter the court and your team already has a big advantage.”

On the support he got from fellow goalkeeper Torbjørn Bergerud:

“We talked a lot, we are like a team within the team. He told me to think of this game as a normal game, an everyday game. And that’s what I tried to put in my head. It was just a normal game but in a big arena.”

On the relationship he has with Bergerud:

“A good one. We know that we have different roles. I am here because I deserve to be there, but we work together as a team within the team. I try to be as good as possible all the time, but he is the number one. We are on the same page, both ready and willing to help the team in every game.”

On how playing for HSV Hamburg has helped him be ready for big competitions:

“It was important because in the Bundesliga, you can not have a day off. You play in big arenas, lots of spectators, lots of expectations as well. It’s quite similar to the EURO, except here you play every two days. But it’s pressure, because you can not have a bad game. And I love pressure, this is what we do this job for. It definitely helped me be a better player.”

SERBIA

Lazar Kukić (SRB) – centre back

On what they learnt from the defeat against Spain:

“The start was not good, maybe we were a little bit afraid of Spain in the first 15 minutes. We did not have the aggressivity in defence, and in attack we caused too many mistakes. Therefore, Spain played with more confidence and then it was difficult to come back against an amazing team.

“In the end we had chances to turn the match around, but it was not enough. We did not deserve to win. The major learning is to change our attitude, and to be aggressive right from the start. I hope, we will show our true character in the next game against Germany and to have the chance to make it to the next round.”

On whether they feel pressure for their game against Germany:

“It is no pressure. It is a normal situation when you play at a European Championship. It is the hardest competitions for national teams, as every match is a final, mainly when you play in the most difficult group of this EURO.

“You only face top teams, and if you want to proceed to the main round, you have to beat them. We want to win and to bring back the confidence. And finally, everything will be decided in the last game.”

On defence and goalkeeping as the keys of this match:

“The outcome of the match will depend on defence and goalkeeping. Germany have a lot of experience and amazing players, so I expect a difficult game, but I hope our defence and goalkeepers will do an amazing job to cause a surprise.”

GERMANY

Julian Köster (GER) – left back

On the victory against Austria:

“We relied on a really strong defence and goalkeeping. We put Austria under pressure and it was really hard for them to score. On the other side, we did not score many easy goals, this is what we need to improve – to play quicker and to score more easy goals.”

On their next opponents, Serbia:

“Serbia have a physical strong defence and two extremely good goalkeepers. Again, our attack will have a tough challenge ahead, but if we manage to cause many turnovers and do not have to run against this wall permanently, life will be easier.”

On being part of the team alongside four teammates from VfL Gummersbach:

“Firstly, it is great to see so many well-known faces around, second, of course this block is well-rehearsed in defence and attack. Tom Kiesler and I are part of the central defence, in attack, I am playing next to Miro Schluroff. So we bring a lot of automatisms to the national teams, we have this blind understanding. And it is really fun with them always -mainly thanks to Miro, who is our dressing room DJ and entertainer.”

FRANCE

Guillaume Gille (FRA) – France head coach

On the game against Ukraine on Saturday:

“Ukraine have a much bigger motivation than just handball, of course, representing your country when it is under attack is something else. What Ukraine is going through, on the ground, is horrible. But we have to focus on ourselves, and on the game. There is not much we can do to help them, sadly. They are a very young team, that fights a lot. But I am sure that if we play with respect, we should have the upper hand.”

On the risks for France to be already thinking about the game against Norway:

“That is the risk, obviously, everybody expects the finale of the group to be against Norway on Monday. We have warned the players that if we play bad against Ukraine, there is a risk that this could be repeated against Norway against Norway. We have to keep our rhythm, keep our concentration to the maximum and try to keep going.”

On defending the EHF EURO 2024 title:

 “That does not mean anything to me anymore. So many things have changed now, either in our team and for our opponents. That title, no-one is going to take it away from us. The trophy is at the federation, on a shelf, and now we can move on and try to focus on what is happening now. This gold medal was an important in some of our players’ career, but we can’t remain stuck on what happened in 2024. To me, it feels like we are not defending anything.”

On the various tactical options that he can use:

“That’s part of the DNA of my team, we have often been able to have different solutions over the years. But I am also really depending on the players that are in my roster. You don’t play the same when Hugo Descat or Nédim Rémili are here or injured, for example. I have many players in the squad that can play on various positions on both ends of the court. That’s something that makes us richer, sometimes, than our opponents, but that can also play against us, at times.”

On the new dynamics within the France team:

“It’s different since some of the leaders we had — such as Luka Karabatic or Vincent Gérard — retired. It feels like the leadership is way more shared now than it was before. But in the meantime, there is a hierarchy that is visible, because some players play more than others, or some have more experience than others. That’s something that comes naturally. There are players that have been with the team for almost 10 years now, that have won Olympic titles with crucial roles within the team, it’s hard not to brand these guys as leaders.”

Yannis Lenne (FRA) – right wing

On the game on Thursday against Czechia:

“It was a good first game, we are satisfied that everyone was able to step on the court, take the temperature, score a goal. It’s good for the confidence that we were able to start this way. Of course, that does not mean much, but it’s always better to start with a large than to fight for 60 minutes and just win by one.”

On coming back from injury:

“I feel good, the last year has not been too easy, I had several injuries that kept me away from the court. So far, everything is running fine, I am happy to be here among guys that I really appreciate.”

On how his life changed since he became a dad:

“It’s completely different, and it’s good, as it takes my mind off handball a little bit. Before, I was with my partner and I thought about handball a lot, even at home. Now it’s different, when I am at training, it’s still all about handball, when I come home, I put on the daddy suit. It’s kind of good, actually, to have a break and to be able to think about something else.”

On the benefits of moving to Veszprém last summer:

“It made me grow a lot, in every aspect. When I was playing in Montpellier, I was in my comfort zone, everything was kind of easy. Even though, you put pressure on yourself, this is still your comfort zone.

“When I arrived in Veszprém, everything was different. Speaking English, the way people live there, the culture, it’s all brand new. And it pushes you, off and on the court. There are huge expectations within the club and you have no right to fail. I think it’s another level, and it helps me when I play with France as well, of course.”

AUSTRIA

Jakob Nigg (AUT) – right wing

On the defeat against Germany:

“It was real fun to face Germany in a huge arena with thousands of fans, regardless of the result. Unfortunately, we did not carry a point from this match though we showed a really strong performance. It hurt, but it was fun. Personally, I was satisfied, I scored many goals though I missed the first two shots. Later, I never doubted that I could fail again, and it worked.”

On the upcoming matches in group A:

“We have to win the next two matches if we want to make it to the main round. We will be well-prepared and we are really looking forward to this match.”

On the pressure Austria are now under:

“A certain amount of pressure is good, but I go out on the court and simply want to play handball, simply want to help my team. You cannot think permanently that ‘if we lose this match, everything is over’, in contrast: you need to have a focus, but you also have to feel the joy of playing and to stay positive.”

On beating their next opponents, Spain, at the EHF EURO 2024:

“It was an incredible euphoria. I did not play in this match, but I tried to push my team from the bench. I had lost my voice after this match from shouting for my teammates. This was the match, when we clicked as a team.

“From that moment on, we knew that huge results are possible. In the outside world, not many believed that we could knock out Spain, but in the team, we had this belief. We were sure we could manage it.”

On his very emotional way of celebrating a goal:

“Every player is part of the team motivation. Others do not cheer that much after a goal, but push themselves in the dressing room before the match. I have this joy on the court, this is my style. We need to have those emotions, otherwise we cannot be successful. I do it for me, for the team, for the fans.”

SWEDEN

Mikael Appelgren (SWE) – head coach

On the pressure at the beginning of the EHF EURO:

“You can feel it, but it's both positive and negative. We are a team with the great ambitions. We know that we have a lot of good chances in the championship when you play at home, but it also comes with a little bit of pressure, and also joy that we are at home. So this is mixed emotions, but mostly positive.”

On his players:

“It's a big thing for us if we can have that, no injuries like at the last championship. But that's only one part of the game. Another part is that in the Euro, it's a lot about how you do it the last 10 minutes. The last 10 minutes of the match many times end up with one goal plus or minus for the other team. So it's about being sharp there. So, there are some challenges for sure in this tournament.”

On the first game against the Netherlands:

“It's a very difficult game. We saw that game two years ago and if you play against the Swedish coach, he for sure knows the Swedish team very, very well. We were down in that match in minute 56. They were in the lead with some great saves of Andreas Palicka, we managed to win it, but we were not having control over that game.

“So it was almost a little bit of luck in the end, or that our goalkeeper performed extra good when it was the most important. We need to play better than we did at that time, because the Netherlands are that dangerous. When they are having a good day, they can beat everybody.”

On group E:

“In the Euros, the groups are very difficult. I don't know if we are favourites against Croatia that finished second in the last World Championship and we finished 14th. We can talk about favourites or per cent or whatever statistic, but when the ball is in play, we are quite similar teams.

“It is so important to live here and now, take one game at the time, and focus on that. Because if you start to think about another game when you play against the Netherlands, for sure it's not two points.”

Felix Claar (SWE) – centre back

On being ready after missing the 2025 IHF Men's World Championship:

“Last year, it was tough to be at home and watching games on TV. I wish I was there, that I could help team somehow. But, now I'm here and we play in Sweden. It's going to be incredible feeling to run in my Malmö Arena tomorrow in front of a full house with 11,000 Swedish fans. It feels like it has been a very, very long pre-camp from the 2nd of January. We are ready now.

On the pressure as co-hosts:

“The pressure is there and we also put some pressure on ourselves. We have a key game against the Netherlands on first day, a good Netherlands so that game is going to set a tournament a bit.”

On the first match against the Netherlands:

“Staffan Olson knows a lot of thing about our players and how we want to play. They are playing incredibly fast, in my opinion Dani Baijens and Luc Steins they probably play the fastest handball. When the Netherlands and them are playing on a high level, they can match everyone.”

On personal expectations:

“I have high expectations on myself. I want to deliver. I want to play as much as possible. I want to go out there and enjoy, have fun, and deliver.”

On the top three contenders for medals at the EHF EURO:

“I say number one, clearly, Denmark. I think they are number one, two, and then we are there with a lot of other teams that can fight for the third spot. Denmark are really big favourites.”

Sebastian Karlsson (SWE) – right wing

On being ready for the start of the EHF EURO:

“I hope we are ready, I think we are. We have been preparing for a long time, so I hope we will draw some benefits from that and show it already in the first game.”

On his expectations:

“I find it intriguing and enjoyable to play in front of a full Swedish crowd against a good opponent like the Netherlands. We can draw more good things from it, than see it as a pressure thing. Of course, there is pressure involved as well, but I think that in the end, we're going to have a huge benefit from having our home crowd in our backs and that we will draw energy from it.”

On the group opponents:

“It's a really difficult group, and as it should be, a European championship. It's not going to be any game that's just easy. It's going to be tough games all the way, and you really have to take one game at a time. We have been really trying to focus on that.

“It's easy also to get ahead of yourself in competitions and while we are trying to stay focused on one game at a time and just taking now first Netherlands and then what comes after.”

On the Swedish team:

“We have a mix between young and old, experienced players who can take on the mental of carrying the team. But also the young guys who can bring their energy. And we have got a few players back that weren't with us at the last in the last championship, so I think they can help and improve the team as well. I think all of us who were in Norway last time, all of us feel ready for a revenge in a way, we want to do a better performance this time around.”

CZECHIA

Daniel Kubeš (CZE) – Czechia head coach

On bouncing back after losing by 14 goals against France:

“It’s not easier to put ourselves back just because we lost badly. We try to forget about the loss, take the negatives to change it, but we also want to keep the positives. We scored 28 goals against one of the best teams in the world, the second part of the first half was really good as well, so was our seven-against-six system.”

On the pressure his young players could have felt playing their first EHF EURO:

“That might explain why we took those six goals right away, from the start. We started with some young players and maybe they got impressed, I don’t know. I am sure that now they have played their first game, they can only improve.”

On the game he expects against Norway:

“A tough one, of course. They play really fast, they have really good players. I think that we have to remain in the game for as long as possible if we want to upset them. That was the plan against France as well, but we did not manage to do it. If you lose by six right away, it’s hard to come back. We have to be better in this part of the game.”

Jan Hrdlička (CZE) – goalkeeper

On the game against France on Thursday:

“It was tough of course, our game plan did not work as we wanted. Not everything has to be thrown to the bin, though, there are things that we are satisfied with. From time to time, we managed to play very well and to show good stuff. But when you play against some of the best players in the world, of course, you really have to keep up with the pace.”

On the opportunity the Czech players have to play at the EHF EURO:

“When you play France, you play against some of the best in the world, and maybe some of us did not expect this level of preciseness. It is a huge step for some of the young players in our team, even though we had warned them about all of this. Being here and playing this competition is a great opportunity to gain experience and to improve.”

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