Men's EHF EURO 2026 post-match flash quotes: 22 January
HERNING – Comments from players and coaches after matches in Men's EHF EURO 2026 main round group I on Thursday.
FRANCE vs DENMARK 29:32 (12:11)
Guillaume Gille (FRA) – France head coach
On the match:
“It was a very tight match between two big teams. Of course we are a little bit disappointed after this game, because we gave a lot, we try a lot of things on the pitch, without two of the points at the end. That’s a little bit frustrating but I also have to admit that Denmark played a better end of the game.
“On our side it was a little bit less performance and of course the big points wasn’t on our side.”
On the next match, against Portugal:
“In this incredible main round each game will be crucial for us. Now we have lost against Denmark, and we have only end games. It will be tough, but for sure also an incredible fight against Portugal.”
Thibaud Briet (FRA) - left back
On the defeat:
“It’s tough and it’s frustrating. I feel everything started from our defence in the first half, and from theirs at the end of the game. It's even more frustrating because I feel like we played great for 55 minutes. And then some odd things happened, we lost some shit balls, they played for a long time and then they scored a weird goal. We got punished every time, and that’s frustrating.”
On the fact that France lost their joker for a defeat:
“This defeat will make us more hungry. I am so angry at myself because I did not have the lucidity in the last five minutes, the situation where we had one more man on the court. I did not make the right move. Back to the point, it’s cool, they are partying now, but we’ll make everything to be partying in a few days.”
On playing in this kind of atmosphere:
“It’s better for them than it is for us. We love this, we play in the (EHF) Champions League, we are used to this. We were ready for such a battle. We would have like to have them turn the volume down because we were winning, but we could not, sadly.”
Ludovic Fabregas (FRA) – line player
On the defeat:
“It’s a lot of frustration right now. We were playing good but maybe we cracked a little bit at the end. We did not deserve to lose by three goals, I think that’s their biggest advantage of the evening. We had the right attitude, we played right for 50 minutes, but we did not manage to put the nail in the coffin.”
On what he said to his team after the loss:
“That if we had won, we would not have won the EURO, and that after losing, we are still able to do it. We have games every two days, it’s important that we can bounce back. Tomorrow, we are frustrated, angry and sad but tomorrow is already the start of the preparation for the next game.”
On the French defence:
“I think it was good. (Mathias) Gidsel and (Simon) Pytlick did not find many solutions in the centre, which is what we wanted. It’s sad that we were not able to control them in the last five minutes, even more so on the last action. Their goal will count, because in this crazy main round, every goal counts. We told ourselves that we should be aware on the last action, and we still took it. It’s frustrating.”
Nikolaj Jacobsen (DEN) – Denmark head coach
On whether he can breathe more easily after the win:
“Now it’s the first time I breathe in the last 30 minutes. A really tough match, great great team.
“We struggled today with too many technical mistakes so we couldn’t get the grip of the match, but at the end really strong defence, and a really strong performance in attack in the second half also. But we make too many technical mistakes. I want to get rid of them.”
On the next match, against Spain:
“I hope less mistakes. I don’t expect any easy matches. Spain is a really uncomfortable team, they play sometimes slow, sometimes fast, they never give up. It will be a really difficult match on Saturday also.”
Emil Jakobsen (DEN) – left wing
On the win:
“Today was brutally tough and incredibly difficult. It was pure madness and chaos. I’m so happy and proud of the team that we’re now standing here with two points.”
On the fans’ support:
“The crowd were outstanding, as always. They helped us so much, and we got so much energy back from them. Without them it would have been much, much harder.”
On the importance of the win for the rest of the tournament:
“This was exactly the kind of match we needed. We gained so much confidence today — now we’re really up and running. We didn’t have much confidence after the game against Portugal. A win like this, in front of such an atmosphere, was exactly what we needed.”
On their next opponents, Spain:
“That will be very difficult. We’ll have to perform the way we did today if we want to win.”
On his run of five goals in seven minutes:
“That was my moment. I had a lot of energy because I hadn’t played before the break. I wanted to help the team, and in the end that’s what I did.”
SPAIN vs NORWAY 34:34 (16:16)
Jordi Ribera (ESP) – Spain head coach
On the match:
“Today is one day very sad, but I think that my team plays a very good match, and is not looking the last 10 minutes, and especially in the last play when there are six against four in Norway.
“I think my team has a very good match, 60 minutes in defence and attack, but there was one moment and two goals and possibly three goals ahead (where) it’s not possible. Norway is very good control after (being) two goals up, and in the seven-six for us it’s not possible to recover one ball.
“The final (result) is not very good for us, for the heads of my players in this competition. Now with zero points in the first match in the main round it’s not a very good future.
“There are 48 hours to recover the head and the spirit for the team and prepare the match against Denmark. It’s possible to improve.”
Kauldi Odriozola (ESP) - right wing
On his feeling after the defeat:
“It is really frustrating to lose this game, because we made it through to the main round with zero point, and we wanted the two points. I have the feeling we did everything right until the 50th minute, we had balls to be three goals ahead, but we did not convert them. And then, things changed, and they found solutions playing seven against six.”
On whether he thinks Spain deserved a better fate:
“At least a draw, I think, because we were ahead during a long time, and to end up empty-handed like that is tough. We are not rewarded for what we did. I really think we had a great game, but we did not convert the balls to kill the game. And at the end, it got back at us. We have to learn from this, move on and try our best in the next game.”
On the balls they did not convert:
“We played very well for 50 minutes, and the seven against six, we were not able to do anything against it. The last 10 minutes were not convincing on our side, we were not able to find a proper solution on the last action either. It hurts because now, the path to the semi-final seems more complicated.”
Jonas Wille (NOR) – Norway head coach
On the match:
“It was a really tough and even game. I’m really proud of my team, the fighting spirit, the energy, the team spirit.
“Of course we have to give credit to Spain today; the luck was on our side, but we really appreciate this win. It’s good for our team.”
On the rest of the main round:
“It will be tough matches all the way. We were prepared for that, so it’s so nice to get a victory so we know we have that in our bag, two points. We are going to continue to have this offensive mentality and keep on having the same energy.”
Kevin Gulliksen (NOR) - right wing
On the victory:
“It’s quite unbelievable, it was a really tough game against a great team that did a great job to cause us problems. We had to battle through the 60 minutes of the game, we had to play better defensively and offensively in the last 10 minutes to turn things around. I am really proud of what we did.”
On not letting their heads down while Spain were two goals ahead:
“This is what we are prepared for, this is what we do. We tried to focus just on the next action, not really thinking about anything else than to score the next goal and not take the next Spanish action. It worked to do things like this, just coming back into the game, little by little.”
On how he felt when the referees went to check the video on the last action:
“It was quite long, but it’s always hard when they go to check the video. I had the feeling we had done everything right, that the defence was OK but when they go to check on the screen, then you are scared they are going to change the decision. We were all really nervous, but when they said the game was over, it was unbelievable. Lots of emotions, maybe even more with the scenario of the game.”
On the importance of the two points for Norway:
“We would probably have been eliminated of the main round if we had lost tonight, so of course we are really happy that our chances are still alive. This main round is crazy, all of the teams are good teams so every game, every point is important. It was key for us to win, to keep our team spirit alive and to keep our momentum.”
GERMANY vs PORTUGAL 32:30 (11:11)
Alfred Gislason (ISL) – Germany head coach
On the match:
“It was a really defensive game for both teams, and especially in the first half both teams were making too many errors, technical errors, so it was quite a low points scoring in the first half.
“In the second half I think we deserve to win the game because our defence was very well and we were playing a lot better in attack than in the first half, getting goals from the back court, what we didn’t have in the first half.
“Andi Wolff was of course as always fantastic in goal, so we managed to win this game, which was very hard because Portugal is today a great team.”
Johannes Golla (GER) – line player
On the match:
“The first half was very mixed; we didn’t really get into the game, made a lot of technical mistakes and missed several shots. We can thank Andi (Wolff), and we were fortunate that the Portuguese didn’t have one of their best days, so we went into the break with a draw.
“In the second half it was a battle for every single goal. We can be very pleased with the performances of Miro (Schluroff), Renars (Uščins) and Nils (Lichtlein), who all played very well. On top of that, we have a deep squad with a lot of quality. It was tight right until the end, but it was a deserved victory.”
On his red card:
“Firstly, I trusted the others to see the win through, and secondly, it was frustrating. Nobody intends to hit an opponent in the face; it wasn’t an extremely hard contact. But once the video review was called, you could more or less anticipate the decision. There’s no point in overthinking it or arguing about it. The boys managed to bring it home successfully.”
On the next opponents, Norway:
“I haven’t seen much of Norway yet, but I have the impression that they are in better shape than at recent tournaments, where they fell short of their own expectations. They’ve played well now, and it will be an evenly matched game. We’ll need to start better than we did against Portugal so that we don’t have to rely on Andi (Wolff) until the very end. I’m expecting a close match.”
Paulo Pereira (POR) – Portugal head coach
On the defeat:
“It’s a physical question. It’s not an excuse, but it’s reality. Because of the schedule, Germany they had more than one day if we compare to our recovery. I think this helped them a little bit in this game.”
On missing suspended line player Victor Iturizza:
“This fact allowed us to use Gabriel Cavalcanti in the middle, and we saw in the problem an opportunity. I think for the rest of the championship we want one more player to go in the middle of defence.
“I am very happy for him and for us, because it helps us. We must correct some details, but he’s very happy.”
On the match:
“In general I think we play more or less good, but (Andreas) Wolff is Wolff, and I think it was really a big cause, if we must explain the defeat.
“We will continue fighting. We played against Germany, it’s not an easy team, so we keep fighting to see if we have some opportunity to continue a bit more.”
Martim Costa (POR) – left back
On the match:
“I am proud of my team. Our line player (Victor Iturizza) did not play this match, I can’t understand this decision, why he was out. But it is how it is. We were a bit tired in our legs in the first half.
“Today’s difference was (Andreas) Wolff, who saved so many shots. He is one of the best goalkeepers in the world, so our efficiency was very low. We showed an amazing game, but in the last two days some strange things happened, which I don’t understand. But it is not my job to talk about this. We don’t have to say any excuses for the defeat.”
On the next opponents, France:
“Right now, we are tired and need to recover. Against France, we have to do our job in defence, get many chances in attack. But mainly we need to defend like in the first half against Germany and the whole match against Denmark. We want to win and we will do everything. France are one of the best teams in the world, with a lot of speed, counterattacks and a strong defence. It will be a match with high speed.”
Photo © kolektiff images
