Live blog: Faroe Islands, Spain, Montenegro and Georgia qualify

• day two of round 5 of the Men's EHF EURO 2026 Qualifiers, with nine matches. 
• results: 
  • group 1: Estonia vs North Macedonia 17:36
  • group 2: Finland vs Montenegro 28:33
  • group 3: Georgia vs Greece 29:26
  • group 4: Highlight match: Italy vs Spain 29:33; Latvia vs Serbia 26:27
  • group 6: Ukraine vs Netherlands 27:35; Kosovo vs Faroe Islands 23:25
  • group 8: Israel vs Poland 33:31; Romania vs Portugal 28:24
• Germany, Hungary and Czechia joined the final tournament line-up on Wednesday. Recap the day's games here
• see the group standings here
• Courtney Gahan reporting; all photos courtesy of the home teams

Thursday 8 May

14:57

Throw-off on day two of round 5 is just moments away! Tune in now on EHFTV or follow the live stats here: 

• Georgia vs Greece
• Israel vs Poland

14:49

We could hardly be starting with two more promising clashes, as both the reverse legs between the four teams first on court were as close as could be. 

When Georgia hosted Greece in round 1, Greece won 27:26. That was both the only win for Greece so far in the qualifiers and one of Georgia's two losses. Georgia have never beaten Greece in an official match. 

The round 1 encounter between Poland and Israel saw a 32:32 draw, with Israel leading at half-time. Israel have beaten Poland only once in seven previous games, and that result was also close, at 25:24 in the EHF EURO 2018 Qualifiers. 

14:39

While we wait for throw-off, let's look briefly ahead to the round 5 Highlight Match: Italy vs Spain, which will be streamed on EHFTV with English commentary and begins at 19:00 CEST. Either team could qualify for the final tournament tonight, although Italy rely on Serbia's result against Latvia as well. 

Italy are in a position they have never been before — coming into the last two rounds as group leaders with only one loss behind them. That loss was by the narrowest of margins: 31:30 against Spain in round 1. The performance in round 1 set the tone for what has been a great campaign for Italy — one that could end with them qualifying for the EURO for the first time. Italy have played it once before, in 1998, but they were directly qualified as hosts.

We caught up with Italy wing Leo Prantner, who will also feature at the TruckScout24 EHF FINAL4 with Füchse Berlin in June. Now, he hopes to secure a place at the EHF EURO 2026. 

Read the feature below!  

14:34

Today's action opens with two matches throwing off at 15:00 CEST: 

• Georgia vs Greece
• Israel vs Poland

While every point is important and all four sides are still in the race for the final tournament, Georgia are in the spotlight, as they have the chance to be the next to qualify. A victory over Greece will take Georgia to the EURO. 

14:20

Good afternoon and welcome to another exciting day of Men's EHF EURO 2026 Qualifiers! We are into round 5 of 6, and that means it is well and truly the business end of the qualification phase — some teams will celebrate and others will be left waiting for next time.

After Germany, Hungary and Czechia clinched their berths at the tournament in Denmark, Norway and Sweden yesterday, 13 places at the EURO remain.

Let's get started with some reading — below, find the day preview, the review of Wednesday's qualifiers, and the review of the latest EHF EURO Cup 2026 games, also played yesterday.