Derbies and rivalries: Discover the key matches of the Women's EHF EURO 2026
The stage is set for the Women's EHF EURO 2026! Thursday's draw determined the six groups of four teams for the preliminary round of the final tournament in December. With five countries — Poland, Romania, Czechia, Slovakia, Türkiye — hosting the European Championship, the excitement literally spreads across the continent as all 24 participating teams now know who they are going to meet in their first three matches. Here are some of the most notably games fans can look forward to.
Group B — Cluj-Napoca (ROU)
Reigning and record European champions Norway start their title defence in the post-Katrine Lunde era in group B in Cluj-Napoca, where they meet hosts Romania as well as Switzerland and North Macedonia.
Norway and Romania also shared a group in the Women's EHF EURO Cup 2026, with the Scandinavian side winning both at home (27:25) and away (45:25). Both teams have advanced to the semi-finals, so there is a chance fans will see them meet up once again in the final or the third-place match of the EHF EURO Cup even before their clash at the EHF EURO final tournament in December.
Group A — Oradea (ROU)
The other venue in Romania, Oradea, will host group A, where Hungary and Montenegro will contest a duel between the bronze medallists from 2024 and 2022, respectively. Also in this group are Slovenia and Iceland.
The latter team already met with Montenegro in the qualifiers, winning 28:27 at home but losing 33:24 away.
Group C — Antalya (TUR)
Hosting group C in Antalya in only their second EHF EURO participation, Türkiye await fascinating duels with three-time champions Denmark, who took silver in both 2022 and 2024, and with Spain, who are two-time silver medallists but have not been back into the top eight for the last 12 years.
Also, a heated duel against EHF EURO debutants Greece is a confrontation the supporters of both Türkiye and their neighbours are already looking forward to.
Greece and Spain also were in the same group of the qualifiers, when Spain celebrated a clear win (35:15) and a narrow one (24:22).
Group D — Brno (CZE)
Czechia find themselves in the challenging group D in Brno, where neighbours Austria are one of the opponents. The venue is situated some 50 kilometres north of the Czech-Austrian border, making it almost a home game for both teams.
The top-seeded side in this group are the Netherlands. The semi-finalists of the 2025 IHF World Championship will meet their former head coach, Monique Tijsterman, who is now in charge of Austria.
And with Croatia, the surprise bronze medallists from 2020, another strong contender completes the group.
Group E — Katowice (POL)
Poland are proud hosts of group E in Katowice, where 2018 champions France, who have been in the semi-finals in each of the last five EHF EUROs, are the standout team.
Poland's neighbours Ukraine and Faroe Island, who are back in the mix after their 2024 debut, make for attractive opponents as well.
Group F — Bratislava (SVK)
Group F in Bratislava provides hosts Slovakia with a tough task — and with a great line-up for the many fans in the country. Consistently strong Sweden and World Championship runners-up Germany, arguably the strongest side drawn from pot 2, lead this group, with Serbia, aiming for their first semi-final since 2012, also in the mix.
Recently, Sweden and Serbia were opponents in the road to the final tournament, when Sweden won both their qualifiers: 29:26 in Serbia, and 27:22 at home.
