Men's EHF EURO 2026 flash quotes: 21 January
HERNING – Comments from players and coaches at media calls at the Men's EHF EURO 2026 on Wednesday.
NORWAY
Jonas Wille (NOR) – Norway head coach:
On the strengths of their main round group:
“It is a really tough main round. We are considering ourselves as underdogs. We are focusing on this positive energy we started with and try not to focus too much on results, but just look at the score board at the match to see how it went. This is the mentality we try to maintain. But it is inspiring to be part of this main round and to have this challenge with all these great teams.”
On Norway’s chances and goals:
“If we do a really good game, we have the capacity to beat them all. It is about coming to that point that we can perform at our very best. That’s the biggest challenge for us, but if you manage to do it, to spoil and destroy the concept of our opponents, we can win any match. But we are not the favourites.”
On his tactics against their first opponents, Spain:
“We always try to speed up in every game. If we want to perform on the highest level, we have to use our main assets, like counterattacks. Spain have a big variety and different tools in their attack. There are many things to be prepared. We played against Spain many times in the last two, three years, so we know a lot.”
Tobias Grøndahl (NOR) – left back
On Norway’s chances in the main round:
“Everybody knows how difficult this group is, so it will be a major challenge for all teams. Even Denmark lost against a really, really strong Portugal team, although everybody expected them to win all games. Inside our squad, everybody believes we have the possibility to win against any opponent.
“We also know that how good everybody in the teams needs to be for this. The chances are kind of pretty open, everybody can beat everyone in this group. We need to be well prepared.”
On the takeaways from the first three matches:
“Definitely the performance of Torbjørn (Bergerud), not only as he kept us in the match against France, and also our seven against six attack which is slowly developing and getting better in each training and each match. We have a lot of potential, as our seven against six is different to others, so it is harder to defend for the opponent, as we have a lot of variations in the ending of the attacks. Maybe we should even start our seven against six earlier in the games. Besides, our running game got better, but still can improve, and our defence sometimes needs more aggressivity.”
On playing faster than Spain:
“When you face a strong team such as Spain, you need to score as many easy goals as possible. This would make our game easier and would stress our opponents. Their attack is a little bit slower than others but with a little bit more finesse. Therefore, our defenders need to read, what they do.”
On their chances against Spain:
“Every time we go on the court, we want to win. We had a lot of trouble with Spain earlier, but in the last few games we have been able to compete with them. So it is a 50:50 game and the best prepared teams will take the points.”
Torbjørn Bergerud (NOR) – goalkeeper
On their hopes for the main round:
“Of course, we have high hopes, but we know that only top teams play in this main round group. For example, Portugal showed how strong they are right now by beating Denmark in Denmark.”
On a potential Norwegian surprise:
“We are underdogs in this group, and it is easier to come from behind and then go up. Hopefully we can do some surprises.”
On the goalkeeper duel with Spain’s Sergey Hernández:
“Sergey has been very good for many years, his consistency is on highest level. He is so stable. But hopefully tomorrow, he might not be that good.”
On the confidence of the Norwegian team:
“We were looking pretty well in Oslo and played some really good handball. Hopefully we can be even better in the main round. We should be proud of what we done so far though we lost against France. They were better than us, a great team and the favourites here with Denmark. We were not satisfied, but we can be proud of the morale in our team. Hopefully we can cause some surprise and do not leave the court with the shoulders on the floor.”
On his own performance:
“My confidence is high. Since the beginning of our preparation my performance in the trainings, the test matches and now in the championship is really good and consistent. It was not a top-top performance over the whole match, but it is good enough. But I hope for more great performances.”
On the keys against Spain:
“We have to be tough in the defence, run fast and score many easy goals. Their defence can be really different to play. Hopefully we can break them down.”
FRANCE
Guillaume Gille (FRA) – France head coach
On the game between Denmark and Portugal:
“It would be a lie to say I expected a Portugal win. But I knew that this game would be a close one. I thought that Denmark, at home, would be more in control. But that’s due to the Portuguese performance. They were fantastic. That’s a EURO game where the reality on the court can be different to the hierarchy on paper. What Portugal showed was inspiring for us.”
On the level of the main round:
“This main round is incredible. When you look at the names, the ambitions of these teams, what they have won lately, you realise two things: how fantastic these games are going to be, and also how tough it will be hard for us, but also for the others.
“Some keep saying that the schedule is going to be tough for us, but I don’t think that our opponents think that playing France is going to be an easy matter. It’s a joy to live these moments. The way to a medal is really tough but it’s a pleasure to play against these teams.”
On the necessity to be good in every game in order to qualify:
“That’s what's toughest, to be honest. A lot of times in these competitions, with all respect to everyone, there are games that you can win if you play at 90 per cent. There is one game where you think that if you don’t play your best handball, you can still take the points. But this time, I don’t see this possibility. And that’s the hardest, to actually think that we will have to play at 100 per cent, four times in a row.”
On the game against Denmark on Thursday:
“Can you imagine playing a tougher game than Denmark at home? I can’t. This game will be tough as hell, because they might want a revenge on themselves after their loss tomorrow. We have this kind of possibility where we can lose a game and still make it through, the situation is not as clear for them.”
On what he was most satisfied about after the preliminary round:
“Many things, the first one being that we won all the games, and that was not easy. To beat Norway at home was everything but the done thing, Czechia were a tough opponent and I think we were lucky to play them first.
“Individually and collectively, we managed to deliver great performances. We also were happy about the way we played, fast, good transitions between offences and defences. We are now with a lot of confidence, we kept some energy because we were able to rotate the team.”
PORTUGAL
Paulo Pereira (POR) – Portugal head coach
On the win against Denmark and its consequences:
“I am happy of course. We made an important win for us, for Portugal, for our sport. Everybody is happy and proud. We cannot find many mistakes in this game. To beat Denmark you must play amazing in all phases of the game, and we did it.
“The most important for now is: not to be too happy about this victory. Otherwise you relax immediately and then we can lose against Germany. If we want to win something we must keep on going and keep on working. Just continue.”
On the atmosphere in the arena:
“It is a pleasure for us to play here in Denmark. We feel this is an amazing handball country, the fans cause a great atmosphere, but still respect the game, they respect the people.”
On the plan against Germany:
“Germany is stronger than last year, but I hope we will find the right stability to win. We can win something, but Germany is Germany. If we play like against Denmark, we are not far away from another victory.”
On dreaming of the semi-final:
“No we go step by step. Our goal is ambitious, to beat our best result, the sixth place in 2020. It means we want to be top five in Europe, which is not easy. We assume this goal, but we know that we can have even more ambitious goals, when we win more matches, we will try. But now, we keep the foot on the ground and go step by step.”
Martim Costa (POR) – left back
On the win against Denmark:
“We are really happy with this victory. Now we have to recover for the match against Germany. Most of us did not sleep that long.”
On the strong defence:
“We know that Denmark is the best team in the world in attack, so we needed to be perfect in every detail and to be 100 per cent focused for every second of the match, as if you are not aware they score a goal. We only conceded 11 goals at half-time, which is amazing against Denmark.
"Our goalkeepers really helped us, they appeared in really important moments. In the second half, our attack was almost perfect. We found good solutions for everything.”
On the reactions in Portugal:
“The people went crazy in social media. It is amazing to put handball in focus in Portugal, we are Not the major sport in a football country. So we make the people talk about handball with result like those.”
On their next opponents, Germany, who they beat last year in the World Championship quarter-final:
“Last year was last year, no match is the same as the other. Unfortunately, the schedule is as it is: we played yesterday the last match, tomorrow the first. Germany had one more day to recover. But we cannot change it, so we have to recover and then fight for the victory.”
On their semi-final dreams:
“The major goal is to win every game. Of course, we want to reach the semi-finals. But the focus is on Germany, we do not think further. But if we win, we are closer to our goal.”
On the chance that both Costa brothers finish on top of the scorer list:
“I just want to help my team, and my job is to score goals. If Kiko (Francisco Costa) and I finish on top of the scorer list, it would be amazing, but if not, we hope to win a medal.”
António Areia (POR) – right wing
On where he ranks the victory against Denmark:
“I put it in the top three. It was an amazing match with an amazing atmosphere, with 15,000 fans. We even saw some flags of Portugal fans. We played amazing in a really important match. But even if the result would not be as it was, I would say the same. It was incredible. We know how strong Denmark is, so we are really happy.”
On their defence:
“Probably this was the key to keep Denmark under 30 goals. In the important phase of the game, we really improved. It worked really well, we try to make the same in the next games. We need steals and defence to start our fast breaks. We know how strong we can be in attack, because of our quality, but defence is the most important part of our game right now. We could not stop Mathias Gidsel, as he is unstoppable, but we caused him and Denmark problems.”
On Portugal’s role in the main round:
“We are not the favourites, we will play our part. But we start with two points, which is extremely good for us. Now we go game by game. Germany now is even more important for our way in this competition. We have to go slowly, but we know we can do great things.”
On their next opponents, Germany, who they beat last year in the World Championship quarter-final:
“Of course, it is good for our confidence that we know we have beaten them already in a crucial match. But it is another competition, the moment of the match is different, so it will be totally different match. New game, new competition, we should forget what happened last year.”
FRANCE
Melvyn Richardson (FRA) - right back
On the game between Portugal and Denmark on Tuesday:
“It was a nice game, really high intensity. Portugal made the perfect game, to win against Denmark you have to be 100 per cent from minute 1 to 60, and they did exactly that. I think Portugal sent a nice message to the handball world. There are still teams that can beat Denmark, and I hope we can be one of those tomorrow.”
On Denmark:
“It does not change much for us that we play them as the first or the second game of the main round. We would have played Denmark anyway, so playing them first means we are right in the main round.
“We have a lot of confidence, thanks to our win against Norway, but things will be different now. It will be another match on away ground, with 15,000 of their fans. We love those games, we love this pressure and we are all looking forward to playing these games.”
On the level of the EHF EURO:
“You have to congratulate all these European teams, the level is increasing, Czechia or Faroe Islands make a lot of progress. It’s good for European handball. There are a lot of great teams, that’s the EURO magic. The more you progress, the tougher the adversity is.”
On the EHF EURO 2014 final between France and Denmark:
“I don’t think any of us played that game, tomorrow will be completely different. In 2014, I was in front of the TV but I think I only watched the second half of the game because I got the timing wrong. Tomorrow will be completely different, we are not trying to write the past again. This game will stand on its own.”
On the two wins in the EHF EURO Cup last year:
“I don’t think the Danish players will think about those games, nor about the game we played in 2024. I think their defeat yesterday will be a big enough motivation for them. They will want to get back on track and I expect them to be extra motivated.”
Dika Mem (FRA) – right back
On playing Denmark tomorrow:
“Nobody expected that this game would be so soon, but playing Denmark tomorrow or in three days does not change much. We are not worried, it’s the same thing to us, this game was already in our hands.
“It does not change anything for us that they lost, we have to win all our games to reach the final weekend anyway. They will have to win all of their main round games, we have a little bit more of a joker. You are all speaking about France versus Denmark, but Spain and Portugal are great teams, everything can happen. It’s important to focus on ourselves.”
On the game between Portugal and Denmark yesterday:
“It was a very high-level game, everybody ran around, it was played on details. It’s a performance that nobody expected, but it’s no a surprise given the quality of the Portuguese players. They have been getting and better in the last three or four years, we only beat them by one goal last year.”
On Mathias Gidsel, his future teammate at Füchse Berlin:
“He congratulated me on the transfer, we wished each other happy birthday and this kind of thing. I don’t really know him, I know him on the court, but we spoke about the club and my transfer towards Berlin. We talked on the phone, there is a lot of respect between us.
“It happened through Aitor Ariño, he gave Mathias my number and then things happened. Mathias Gidsel talked to me during the friendly games last year, that was the first contact between us. When we started talking, I understood what was on his mind. And then I wanted to play with him, to play in the Bundesliga.”
On the games France played against Denmark in the EHF EURO Cup:
“They don’t mean much to be honest, they were only friendly games. I expect the game tomorrow to be completely different. It’s going to be a great game to play, a fun game to watch as well for the spectators. Of course we beat them in the EHF EURO Cup, but they beat us at the Olympics, for example. All the games we play are very tight, so I don’t expect anything else tomorrow.”
DENMARK
Henrik Kronborg (DEN) – Denmark assistant coach
On the defeat against Portugal:
“It was the first time in this tournament that we played against a truly strong opponent. We saw what was missing: we lost the individual duels in both attack and defence, and Portugal delivered a really strong performance. They played with a lot of pressure in attack and were aggressive in defence, which is why we couldn’t find our attacking rhythm.
“We now have four home matches, and we have to win them with the crowd behind us. We still have all the possibilities, but we need to improve in several areas.”
On a potential revenge for the lost EHF EURO 2024 final against their next opponents, France:
“You can’t take revenge for a final defeat in a main round match. Now it’s another important game for both teams. If we lose it, things will look very difficult. We need to focus on ourselves. If we win the next four matches, we will be in the semi-finals — that is our goal.”
On potential variations in attack:
“We always have new variations depending on the opponent, and we have prepared a few things for tomorrow. More important, however, is that we get into our flow. When we play at a high tempo and put the opponents under pressure with quick passing, we always have a chance. We will change a few things against France, but we also all need to raise our overall level.”
Magnus Saugstrup (DEN) – line player
On the reasons for the defeat against Portugal:
“Portugal played incredibly well. We made too many mistakes — for example, when we were two goals ahead in the second half, we missed a chance and allowed them back into the game. Apart from that, it was a lot of small things — that’s handball. We’ve always said that the European championship is very tough because there are so many incredibly strong teams, and that’s what Portugal showed.”
On the players’ experience with pressure situations:
“That helps us not to panic now. There’s no reason for it — we still have four matches to play. But now we have to deliver and stick together.”
On whether France are the toughest main round opponents:
“That’s hard to say, because it also depends on the form on the day. We’re facing four top teams — all of them will be difficult.”
On the importance of the defence:
“Hopefully we can use the speed to our advantage and control the game. We then need to stop the pressure from the French, who play with a lot of physicality and have two strong line players. We have to work hard against that.”
On their home advantage:
“We love playing here. Hopefully it gives us an advantage and a few extra percentage points.”
Mads Hoxer (DEN) – right back
On the unexpected defeat against Portugal:
We are still very disappointed, we did not play that good of game we wanted to, but I also have to say that Portugal were better than us. We have to continue now and beat France.
On coping with pressure:
“All our players play for top-level clubs, so we know what to do know. We look on our mistakes and try to do it better tomorrow.”
On whether attack or defence will be crucial against France:
“It is both ends. France scored a lot of goals and we have to see how we defend against them. And we have to run much more than yesterday, then it will be a fun game.”
On their confidence:
“We still have confidence. We only lost one game and we have an amazing team. We already talked about it right after the match that we only have to win the next four games, then we are in the semis. That is our hope and our goal.”
On whether France are their toughest main round opponents:
“France are tough, but also Germany have a great team. But now our focus is only on France.”
SPAIN
Jordi Ribera (ESP) – Spain head coach
On having two days of rest:
“It’s better to have two days of rest. On the first day, our head was really far away from the competition. Today is the day to prepare and concentrate for the main round.
“It’s going to be really difficult, against France, Denmark, Portugal and Norway. The first match for us will be the most important for us, especially after our loss against Germany. We have zero points in the main round. It’s possible to take the points.”
On the four teams that they will play in the main round:
“All are playing at a very high level. Of course, Denmark and France, everybody knows them. But also Portugal, after their game against Denmark. I am not surprised, I think Portugal have been playing really well since the last EURO.
“Right now, their group of players, this generation, is very good. The Costa players (Martim and Francisco) are the top players, they show it every week in the Champions League. They have the EURO at home in 2028, they will have a very good team.
“I think that Denmark can recover, even though they did not play well yesterday. Usually, there is one surprise at the EURO, like in 2020 when France were eliminated. Maybe there will be another surprise this year.”
On every game from now on being a quarter-final:
“The philosophy of the team is, every game is a final. If we don’t win against Norway, it will be very difficult to look ahead. For us, Germany was already a final and the first game of the main round, because we would take points. Now, I think Norway is the most important game, and if we win, we can have another final. And then, we can see how things will be then.”
On the way his team has been playing since the start of the tournament:
“We have really young players, such as Marcos Fis, who is 18 years old. I think that the main round offers us four more matches to make progress, to improve. Every game is a good opportunity to make a step forward, to make progress. Now, in this competition, it is important that the team played better against Serbia than against Austria, and better against Germany. Even if we lost.”
Daniel Dujshebaev (ESP) – left back
On having two rest days between the game against Germany and the start of the main round:
“It’s really nice because we had this extra day, we could disconnect from handball and today is like a normal rest day. Yesterday was different, we did not train, we could do something else. For the mind, it’s important we can take a break from handball. Here, everyday is like the day before the next game and it’s really difficult. It’s good to have this day-off.”
On what they did on their day off:
“We went out to eat something with the whole team. Nothing special, but at least your are not 24 hours in the hotel, you don’t talk about who beat who and what player you will be playing against tomorrow. The rhythm has been intense since the beginning of the preparation, as every January. You come here, you know you are in for a month of focusing and always thinking about handball. It’s not easy sometimes but, in the meantime, there is nothing I would like to do more than being here.”
On the importance of the main round games:
“You could say we started the main round against Germany already, because there were points at stake. We have to be ready for every game, try to win every single game and think about the next one. We just have to try and play good handball. We are doing well, I think, even though we did not play the best game of Germany. If we keep playing like we have done since the beginning, I think we can do something good.”
On Norway, their next opponents:
“Really, we did not see anything of them. I know they changed a little bit their team and Sander Sagosen had a good game against France. We also changed, I don’t quite know what the game will be like, honestly.”
On the preliminary round:
“We had such a difficult group, every game was tough. Against Germany, we made a lot of mistakes, we did not play at our best. But we had some really offensive moments, in defence we were not that bad. The quality of their players is high-level. We could have done more, of course.”
On his importance to integrate the new players:
“It’s so easy, the new players — some of them are not that young — are easy to go off the court. The relationship is really good. When you have a really good group, it’s way easier. We go for some coffee, we always try to do things together instead of staying in our rooms. It is a little bit in our mentality, of course, but it’s always better to be six of us taking coffee than just going to it alone.”
Ignacio Biosca (ESP) – goalkeeper
On having two rest days:
“It’s for sure really important. It’s the first time we have two rest days between two games and the next one is really important for us. We know that our chances will be almost gone if we lose. We need to rest and recover as much as we can before the game against Norway.”
On the way Spain played in the preliminary round:
“I think I would say that we grew up as a team. Even when we lost against Germany, I think we played pretty good. The defence was not that good, we did not help as goalkeepers either. Against Serbia, we were solid and we helped more as well. I think in general we played good offensive handball, we scored a lot of goals as well.”
On the importance of the main round:
“We can say that for us, each game will be like a final. Starting with zero point, every defeat will be almost the end for us. We know that this is going to be really difficult for us but we have to focus on ourselves. I think we have the quality to do it. We have to believe in ourselves if we want to do it.”
On the EHF EURO being his first international competition:
“I was excited before and I am still every game. It’s amazing because the EURO is the most amazing competition, only the Olympics are higher, because they are unique. Each game here is amazing, the level is really great. I am enjoying myself a lot here.”
On how he enjoys this competition more because it is his first at 30:
“Of course, I always waited for that. We joked, when we had the dinner of new players, I was like, OK I am new but I am already 30 years old. It’s my first time here playing a big championship but it’s not my first playing for the national team. I mean, for sure, I appreciate it a lot, but I think I would have appreciated it just the same if I was 20. I am living the dream.”
On waiting for this opportunity:
“It was kind of long, but I also knew I had Gonzalo Perez de Vargas and Rodrigo Corrales in front of me. I always worked to be here and it arrived this year. I am very excited but I will keep working to keep coming here.”
On how playing for Nantes and Veszprém helped him to be in the EHF EURO squad:
“For sure, a lot. The right step was to go to Wisla Plock. Maybe it was only for six months, but it helped me a lot because before, I was in Switzerland. I was playing the (EHF) European League before, it was good, but it was not in the big league, nor the (EHF) Champions League.
“Playing the Champions League, you are more in the spotlight, Veszprém was an important move and Nantes after that. We play good games, competitive games every three days and of course you make progress when you play in this kind of clubs.”
Photo © kolektiff images
