Article by Adrian Jitea – Published on Thursday, 15 January 2026, 20:57 / Updated on Thursday, 15 January 2026 21:00
The European men's handball championship started with a spectacular duel between France and the Czech Republic, final score 42-28.
- In Romania, the European Championship matches will not be televised. They will only be broadcast on the Voyo streaming platform
- All Romanian games will be able to be watched in liveTEXT format on GSP.ro. All relevant information from the tournament, declarations, results and updated standings will also be found here.
The final tournament in 2026 is organized in the Scandinavian Peninsula. The first two games took place on Thursday, starting at 19:00.
France, show of force in the first match of Euro 2026
In Oslo, in the Unity Arena, France got off to a flying start against the Czech Republic. The national team trained by Guillaume Gille was leading 6-0 entering the fifth minute.
PHOTO: Capture @Voyo
France's 9m line worked brilliantly with Elohim Prandi top scorer in the opening half with 5 tries. The coach Gille ran the team and allowed the Czechs to keep the difference within decent limits, even scoring two goals through splendid “aerials”. At halftime, the trophy holder led 20 to 14.
He also played at full speed in the second half. The Czech Republic took chances and attacked in the 7th, being often punished on counterattacks completed in an empty net.
The goal of the Czechs did not work, 5 interventions for Tomas Mrkva and 6 for Jan Hrdlicka, a percentage of just over 22%.
A show of strength from France, the holders of the trophy and one of the few teams who can put pressure on the favorites Denmark. Final, 42-28!
@FRAHandball 🫸🫷 pic.twitter.com/vox5QGFYoH
— EHF EURO (@EHFEURO) January 15, 2026
Elohim Prandi was named the best player of the match. The left winger from PSG scored 6 goals from 7 shots. Richardson and Nahi also contributed with 6 successes. From the Czech camp, Petr Siroky stood out, 6 goals.
Group C also includes Norway and Ukraine. The first two places go on.
Spain, debut with victory
The other match played from 19:00, the debut of group A, was more balanced. Spain, a national team under reconstruction, defeated Serbia, score 29-27 (19-15 at halftime). Germany and Austria will be their opponents.
We were scared in the first half, I don't know why. After the break we showed that we can play good handball. The match with Germany is coming, it's not ready for us! We will try to repeat the performance in the second half
– Darko Dukic, Serbian handball player
The MVP of the dispute was Jan Tarrafeta, 6 goals from 8 throws.
Groups of the European Men's Handball Championship:
- Group A: Austria, Germany, Spain, Serbia – (Herning, Denmark);
- Group B: Denmark, North Macedonia, Portugal, Romania – (Herning, Denmark);
- Group C: Czech Republic, France, Norway, Ukraine – (Baerum, Norway);
- Group D: Montenegro, Slovenia, Switzerland, Faroe Islands – (Baerum, Norway);
- Group E: Croatia, Georgia, Netherlands, Sweden – (Malmo, Sweden);
- Group F: Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Poland – (Kristianstad, Sweden).
In parentheses, the city and country where the matches will be played.
