Serbia shock Spain, Austria end German winning streak

• goalkeeper Patrik Roslander secured Finland’s first victory in this qualification against Slovakia
• 11 goals of Giorgi Tskhovrebadze paved the way to Georgia’s first win against Bosnia and Herzegovina
• a 5:0 run in the last minutes was Serbia’s key to take revenge against Spain
• Italian Leo Prantner was tonight’s top scorer with 15 goals against Latvia
• Germany gave a four-goal lead from their hands to finally tie with Austria
• Kosovo beat Ukraine 31:30 in a thriller decided by the final shot
• world championship semi-finalists Portugal levelled the result in Poland three seconds before the end
• after 60 fully equal minutes, Romania tied against Israel

GROUP 2

Finland vs Slovakia 22:21 (12:12)

A thriller in Vantaa ended with Finland’s first win in this qualification round and the third defeat of Slovakia. Never in the 60 minutes was the margin bigger than two goals as the lead changed constantly. Finally, the goalkeeper position was the key factor, as Patrik Roslander saved 16 shots, while his Slovak counterparts Igor Chupryna and Marian Zernovic ended with a total of 11 saves. After the 17:17, the match went back and forth but remained poor of goals. Marco Antl scored for the last Slovak advance at 19:28, then a 3:0 run with goals of Frederik Karlsson (2) and Benjamin Helander decided the close encounter, in which no team managed to score in the last four minutes. Slovakia remain on zero points before the reverse fixture.

GROUP 3

Georgia vs Bosnia and Herzegovina 28:26 (15:14)

The 11 goals of Giorgi Tskhovrebadze paved the way for Georgia’s first win in the EHF EURO 2026 Qualifiers. Finally, it was something like a private goal duel between Tskhovrebadze and Bosnian Mislav Grgic – and like in the final result, the hosts were ahead, as Grgic netted 10 times. The visitors had the lightly better start, but after the 11:11, Georgia took the lead. Despite an intermediate three-goal advance, nothing was decided until the very end, as Bosnia and Herzegovina managed to level the result several times. Finally, a double strike of Teimuraz Orjonikidze for the 28:25 was the decision – like at the EHF EURO 2024, Georgia were victorious against the Bosnians and are now equal on two points with their opponents.

GROUP 4

Serbia vs Spain 27:25 (11:10)

Serbia are back on track after their defeat against Italy in round 2, being equal on four points with Spain now. The 12 saves of goalkeeper Dejan Milosavljev were crucial for the hosts, who took revenge for the elimination by Spain in the play-offs for the 2025 IHF World Championship. The match was fully equal, with constantly changing, close leads for both sides, until minute 48 and the score of 21:20 in favour of Spain. Then, Serbia scored a decisive 5:0 run for the 25:21 and kept being ahead until the end. Lazar Kukic secured the two important goals, netting the final result with the final buzzer.

Latvia vs Italy 30:35 (15:17)

Perfect debut for new Italian coach Bob Hanning: After winning against Serbia and showing some impressive performances at the 2025 IHF World Championship, Italy continued their upswing, leaving Latvia with zero points. An incredible number of 15 goals by Leo Prantner and ten saves by goalkeeper Domenico Ebner paved the way to their second win in the EHF EURO 2026 Qualifiers. Italy were constantly ahead, but the hosts were close until 20:22 in minute 36. Later, at 30:23, the match was decided, but Latvia, backed by seven goals of Janis Valkovscis, showed morale and reduced the gap to 30:33.

GROUP 6

Kosovo vs Ukraine 31:30 (16:12)

Kosovo took their first win in the qualifiers but had to wait for the final buzzer until the close victory was confirmed. The hosts had a strong start (9:6) and were never down throughout the whole match. When Luigj Quni netted for the 21:15 in minute 37, Kosovo seemed to be on the winners’ way, but within nine minutes, Ukraine levelled the result at 23:23. Backed by ten goals of Dmytro Artemenko, the visitors were on an equal level until the end, but finally left the court empty-handed. Kosovo could have decided the match earlier, but Valon Dedaj missed two penalties in the last minutes. In the table, Kosovo (now on three points) passed their opponents, remaining on two.

GROUP 7

HIGHLIGHT MATCH: Austria vs Germany 26:26 (11:13)

After 22 consecutive victories in the Men’s EHF EURO Qualifiers since 2015, Germany gave a point from their hands in Vienna. Austria were never ahead in the whole match, but finally took a deserved point. The match winner was goalkeeper Constantin Möstl, who saved two penalty shots in crunch time, and line player Tobias Wagner, who scored eight goals from nine attempts and could not be stopped by the German defence. Germany were on the winners’ way, leading 23:19, but then had enormous problems in attack. In the final minute, Sebastian Frimmel levelled the result with a penalty shot, and Marko Grgic missed Germany’s last chance with the final buzzer. More than 6,000 fans in the sold-out arena went crazy – and like at the EHF EURO 2024, the duel of the neighbours ended with a draw. Germany still top the table with five points, Austria are on four. 

GROUP 8

Poland vs Portugal 36:36 (16:14)

Another thrilling draw, in which one team, in this case Poland, gave the win from their hands in the final stages. Backed by the outstanding duo Michal Olejniczak (nine goals) and Piotr Jedraszczyk (seven strikes), Poland were close to winning the semi-finalists of the 2025 IHF World Championship, which had finished the tournament 21 positions ahead of Poland. The hosts had more or less control of the match after the 12:9, though Portugal managed to level the result several times. With 13 minutes left, the match seemed to be decided, with the hosts being ahead 30:26, but even without the Costa brothers, Portugal took a lucky point, as Antonio Areia scored for the 36:36 three seconds before the end. With five points on their account now, Portugal are still unbeaten leaders ahead of Poland, also unbeaten, but with two draws to their name now.

Israel vs Romania 29:29 (14:15)

Like many matches before tonight, the game, which took place in the Serbian city of Kraljevo, was open until the very end. For Israel, it was the second draw after the 32:32 in Poland; for Romania it was the first point in the EHF EURO 2026 Qualifiers. In the first half, Romania’s 11:8 advance was the biggest margin, but was levelled only within minutes. The visitors were mostly ahead by one goal after the break, but Israel managed to turn the match around for the first time at 24:23. Finally, Iosif Buzle tied the match, scoring the equalizer 35 seconds before the end. Yoav Lumbroso (Israel) and Daniel Stanciuc (Romania) were the top scorers with seven goals each.

main image © Serbian Handball Federation