Live blog: Croatia lead Finland; Netherlands with upper hand vs Italy

• Women's EHF EURO 2026 Qualifiers round 5, day 2; all games streamed live on EHFTV
• Thursday's schedule: 
  • LIVE NOW: Finland vs Croatia; Italy vs Netherlands
  • 18:40 CEST Lithuania vs Serbia
  • 20:00 CEST Highlight Match Portugal vs Montenegro; Bosnia and Herzegovina vs Switzerland
  • 20:15 CEST Kosovo vs France
• read the preview of Thursday's games, see how to watch by country and recap Wednesday's action
• Courtney Gahan reporting; all photos courtesy of the home teams

Thursday 9 April

17:20

Portugal host Montenegro in today's Highlight Match, with Montenegro fighting to secure their berth in the final tournament and Portugal aiming to pull off an upset in a tight group 4 where nothing is decided yet. 

Portugal target their second consecutive EHF EURO, following a return to the event in 2024, which ended a 16-year wait to play the competition. Ongoing participation in major championships is a key goal for the Portugal women's team. 

Below, check out our feature with coach José António Silva and rising star Carmen Figueiredo. 

"We knew from the start this was a very demanding group with a high level of parity. Having already secured two victories is a source of satisfaction. It's worth noting that our two losses occurred in the first game of each double-header, played away, which significantly reduced preparation time. Still, with four points, we are well-positioned and depend only on ourselves," says coach Silva.

17:15

The Women's EHF EURO Cup 2026 also continues on Thursday, with one match taking place, after three were played yesterday. 

The Cup is contested between those teams directly qualified for the final tournament — the co-hosts and the 2024 medallists. 

Below, read all about the three matches on Wednesday and check out the preview of today's clash, Czechia vs Denmark.

17:05

Croatia are one of three teams with the chance to join the line-up at the final tournament today. A win against Finland in the opening clash of the day will see them clinch second place in group 1, behind already qualified France. 

Switzerland and Montenegro also have the chance to secure places at the EHF EURO 2026 on Thursday, while Slovenia celebrated their qualification for the final tournament with an emphatic win over Belgium on Wednesday. 

16:50

Good afternoon and welcome to day 2 of round 5 of the Women's EHF EURO 2026 Qualifiers!

Six games got the round started yesterday, and we will see another six played today — and every minute will be covered by this live blog. 

Here's what's coming up:

• 17:30 CEST Finland vs Croatia
• 18:00 CEST Italy vs Netherlands
• 18:40 CEST Lithuania vs Serbia
• 20:00 CEST Portugal vs Montenegro
• 20:00 CEST Bosnia and Herzegovina vs Switzerland
• 20:15 CEST Kosovo vs France

Below, read all the key facts surrounding the games on today's schedule, see where to watch in your location and find a recap of yesterday's matches.