Follow the future: Five players to watch at the M20 EHF EURO 2026

While the biggest thrill of the YAC competitions is the discovery of the yet-unknown talents that are set to lead the game into the future, the U20 generation has been seen in Europe before, at the U18 events in 2024 — and some players have already grabbed the chance to shine on the highest level. 

Here, we look at six players to watch at the M20 EHF EURO 2026. 

Marcos Fis

Date of birth: 1 April 2007
Position: Right back
National team: Spain 
Club: Fraikin BM. Granollers

The MVP of the 2025 IHF Men’s Youth (U19) World Championship is already making his name on the biggest stage, having made his major tournament debut with the Spain A side at the Men’s EHF EURO 2026 earlier this year. And he did not debut quietly — with 19 goals to his name, Fis finished the EURO as one of the Spain’s leading scorers, ranking sixth. 

Fis’ journey to that point is remarkable, as he was selected by head coach Jordi Ribera while playing in Spain’s second division, for Caserio, at the age of 17. He was 18 when he stepped on the court at the EHF EURO 2026, scoring his first goal within seconds — and then another two in the space of two minutes. 

The 2025/26 season overall was a big one for Fis, as he made also made his first appearance in international club competitions, playing the EHF European League with Granollers. Fis scored 47 goals to finish as the side’s top scorer in the competition, and on a domestic level, he ranked as the third leading scorer in the Spanish league, with 164 goals. 

Pauli Rasmussen

Date of birth: 23 January 2007
Position: Right back
National team: Faroe Islands
Club: St.I.F. Stranda

The top scorer for his club as they played only their second international season ever in 2025/26 and with 65 goals scored in 25 international matches on the YAC level, Pauli Rasmussen is expected to be one of the Faroe Islands’ most important attacking weapons.  

27 of those YAC goals were scored at the 2025 Youth World Championship, where he was among the leaders for his side as the Faroe Islands played the event for the second time. On a club level, St.I.F. Stranda played round 2 of the EHF European Cup this past season, where they were eliminated. Aged 18 at the time, Rasmussen led the side with 10 goals in the two games. 

A Player of the Match award at the M18 EHF EURO 2024 earned Rasmussen a place in the EHF’s Respect Your Talent (RYT) programme, where he is part of a continuously growing cohort of YAC players learning about the transition to the professional level from those who have done it before. 

Rasmus Ankermann

Date of birth: 31 July 2007
Position: Left back
National team: Germany 
Club: THW Kiel

2025/26 was a great season for Rasmus Ankermann — he became part of the German Handball Federation’s elite squad, started playing for club giants THW Kiel, made both his Bundesliga and European cup debuts, and was called up to train with the Germany A team for the first time. 

Before the season began, Ankermann was also part of Germany’s 2025 Youth World Championship winning team, where he scored 27 goals to be the side’s third top scorer. In his first international club venture, playing the EHF European League, Ankermann netted 45 times. 

And the end of the season reflected what had occurred during it, as Ankermann was widely recognised, including as “Surprise of the Year” in the Kiel Sportsman of the Year awards, Sportsman of the Year in Schleswig-Holstein and the Best Young Talent nod from the publication Handball World. 

Codrin Dascalu

Date of birth: 16 July 2006
Position: Left back
National team: Romania
Club: CSU Suceava

Last time this generation met in a European Championship, Codrin Dascalu was the one to watch for Romania, as he top scored for his team with 40 goals at the M18 EHF EURO 2024. Although Romania placed 22nd at that tournament, Dascalu’s performance was enough to earn him a place in the RYT programme.  

While all other players on this list featured at the 2025 Youth World Championship, Dascalu played an age group up, at the Junior (U21) World Championship. There, as Romania placed 15th, Dascalu stood out for his assists in particular, ranking among the competition leaders. 

Aljuš Anžic

Date of birth: 12 February 2008
Position: Centre back
National team: Slovenia
Club: RK Celje Pivovarna Lasko

Aljuš Anžic left the 2025 Youth World Championship with not one but two individual awards: The top scorer crown and the All-star Team left back position. Not only did Anžic score 67 goals at an impressive accuracy rate of 78 per cent — 23 of them were recorded in a single match: A 37:37 main round draw versus Norway. 

Another of the RYT cohort, Anžic was also key for Slovenia at the M18 EHF EURO 2024, where he scored 35 goals. He has undoubtedly been developing rapidly, given the leap up the individual rankings between the EURO two years ago and the Youth World Championship last year, from 32nd to first.

After that stellar showing at the Youth World Championship, Anžic played his first proper season in the EHF European Cup, scoring his first goals in the competition and going on to a tally of 62 as he top scored for Celje on the path to the semi-finals. 

Six players that appear on the cusp of another memorable summer — but just six in a field of 24 teams brimming with the brightest talents European handball has to offer. Read more on the M20 EHF EURO 2026 here. 

Photos © kolektiff images/Uros Hocevar (main); Eva Manhart & Jozo Cabraja/kolektiff, Ingrid Anderson-Jensen, Sasa Pahic Szabo/kolektiff, RK Celje Pivovarna Laško, Sascha Klahn