LIVE BLOG: France take early lead in Croatia; Ukraine narrowly beat Lithuania

Women's EHF EURO 2026 Qualifiers

• round 3 concludes with five matches on Thursday:
  - group 5 — Ukraine vs Lithuania 30:29 (15:16)
  - 17:00 CET — Croatia vs France
  - 17:30 CET — Finland vs Kosovo
  - 19:15 CET — Switzerland vs Netherlands
  - 20:00 CET — Bosnia and Herzegovina vs Italy
  
• read the day preview and check the group standings
• the EHF EURO Cup also continues with round 3 (see the round preview); today's Highlight Match is Hungary vs Denmark at 18:00 CET
• tune in to EHFTV (check the TV Guide for geo-restrictions) or consult the Where to watch info to see you favourite teams live in action
• Eric Willemsen reporting; photos courtesy of the respective home teams

Thursday 5 March

14:58

A special moment for Lithuania around their qualifier this afternoon, as they honour their best players of last year:

• best player: Ausra Arcisevskaja
• best young player: Gabija Pilikauskaite
• best female players coach: Karolis Kaladinskas

Congrats!

14:51

Not much time to waste as our first match throws off soon: Ukraine meet Lithuania in the Slovakian city of Michalovce, where throw-off is scheduled for 15:00 CET.

Both teams are on zero points in group 5 after the first two rounds, so a win is what they will be after both.

14:45

Good afternoon again and a very warm welcome back to the live blog for the Women's EHF EURO 2026 Qualifiers!

We started round 3 with six matches on Wednesday, full of excitement, surprises, and a historic result. Now we are going to round it all off with the remaining five matches on Thursday as all teams are eager to boost their chances of qualifying for the final tournament in Poland, Romania, Czechia, Slovakia and Türkiye in December 2026.

Read in the day preview what awaits us this afternoon and evening: