Live blog: Preliminary round to close with two more games in Malmö

• day 7 of the Men's EHF EURO 2026 preliminary round
• at 18:00 CET, Netherlands vs Georgia
• at 20:30 CET, Sweden vs Croatia
• read the day preview
• find out how to follow the men's EHF EURO online, on TV and on social media
• vote for the Player of the Match on the Home of Handball app, 15 minutes before each game's final whistle

Wednesday 21 January

15:00

We're taking a little break now before the first match at 18:00 - check back later from about 17:00 CET for the build-up. In the meantime, here's the stat of the day: Croatia wing Mario Šoštarić has scored 13 field goals so far from 13 attempts, making him the only player with a perfect record who has scored more than eight goals. Remarkable!

14:30

With all 12 main round spots booked, 12 teams' EHF EURO 2026 journeys are at an end (or almost, in the case of Georgia and the Netherlands). They've each given us three thrilling matches, showing the depth and quality of European handball. Here are some of our favourite pictures showing the emotions of the past week for the teams not continuing in the competition.

14:15

Julian Rux of Handballytics is delivering regular statistical analyses for us during the competition, and today he's focused on five young players who have been a driving force behind their teams' attacks in the preliminary round: Francisco Costa, Nikola Roganović, Marcos Fis, Patrick Anderson and Óli Mittún. All except Mittún are still in the tournament, so we're looking forward to seeing how they can add to their already impressive achievements in the main round!

13:45

From Oslo, a heart-warming story of one of the many fantastic volunteers who are making the EHF EURO 2026 possible. Former Norwegian journalist Mette Bugge has been volunteering in the media centre at the Unity Arena, sharing her expertise and love of handball. She's enthusiastic about what volunteering has brought her. Thank you to Mette and all the other volunteers across all our venues!

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13:15

Let's start looking ahead to tonight's games. Georgia and the Netherlands have both pushed their opponents hard in the first two matches, but have come away empty-handed, and tonight is their chance to seek points - and also avoid phase 2 of qualification for the 2027 World Championship.

Sweden and Croatia, meanwhile, will play to see who takes two points to the main round. Here's the preview.

12:45

Still looking back at yesterday, we had some goalkeepers on excellent form last night. Check out the top 5 saves of the last day of action in groups B, D and F!

12:30

The top 5 goals of last night are particularly good ones, including a couple of clutch goals which were vital for the teams scoring. Which is your favourite?

12:00

Hello and welcome to the last day of the Men's EHF EURO 2026 preliminary round. We don't know about you, but we're still recovering from last night. First, Switzerland dominated Montenegro to such an extent that they played themselves into main round contention, and then booked their ticket after the Faroe Islands couldn't quite wrap up a draw or win against Slovenia. 

And then Portugal delivered the shock of the tournament so far with their victory over Denmark in the Danish fortress of the Jyske Bank Boxen in Herning - while at the same time, Iceland just pulled off a one-goal win over Hungary to take two points to the main round. 

Bengt Kunkel, Víctor Tomàs and Andrea Lekić sat down straight after the matches for the latest episode of 'The Spin'. Enjoy!