Boarding completed for M18 EHF EURO 2026

They will join the 14 nations which were pre-qualified thanks to their current four-year ranking in the men’s Younger Age Category.

• Italy sealed the deal after two matches, beating Türkiye 34:27 and Romania 27:23; the decision for second place was a true thriller between Romania and Türkiye with constantly changing leads and finally the Turkish side celebrating a 30:29 win
• Leon Portmann’s final goal against Poland secured Switzerland a 31:30 win and also the ticket to the M18 EHF EURO; the hosts topped group B ahead Poland, for whom the 38:33 victory against Latvia on day one was crucial 
• hosts Slovakia confirmed their M18 EHF EURO participation on day 2 in group C, after beating Montenegro and the Netherlands; seven goals by Milos Tujkovic secured Montenegro the close 24:23 win in the battle for second with the Dutch
• three teams were equal in the final ranking of group D with 4 points each, and the tickets to Serbia were decided on goal difference. North Macedonia finished on top, followed by Finland, and Greece missed qualification by a single goal
• winning all three matches, Czechia finished top of group E, while the race for second place was a true thriller: Geva Dgani secured Israel a 33:32 victory against hosts Lithuania to qualify

Qualification Tournaments confirm participants in three events

For the second time, the M18 EHF EURO 2026 will be played with 24 teams, from 29 July until 9 August in Serbia. The 10 teams which booked their tickets at the Qualification Tournaments will join the 14 teams which are already qualified due to their YAC four-year ranking: hosts Serbia, Croatia, Denmark, Spain, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Portugal, Sweden, Serbia, Austria, the Faroe Islands, France, Slovenia and Norway.

The five third-ranked teams — Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands and Romania — and the three best fourth-ranked teams — Estonia, Luxembourg and Ukraine — will play the M18 EHF Championship I 2026.

Cyprus and Kosovo will be part of the M18 EHF Championship II 2026, together with four teams that have registered directly: Belgium, Bulgaria, Great Britain and Georgia.

Photos © Turkiye Hentbol Federasyonu, Luxembourg Handball Federation; Slovakian Handball Federation; Lithuanian Handball Federation