Article by Adrian Jitea – Published on Thursday, 15 January 2026, 00:16 / Updated on Thursday, 15 January 2026 00:20
- 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.
Romania participates in the second consecutive edition of the European. In 2024 it ranked 22nd, now it is part of a complicated group. They will face the big favorites Denmark, Portugal and North Macedonia.
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.
The top two teams from each group will advance to the two main groups, one scheduled in Herning and one in Malmo.
The top two teams from each resulting main group will qualify for the tournament semi-finals.
The semi-finals (January 30) and the final (February 1) will be played in the Jyske Bank Boxen arena in Herning.
Denmark and the rest of the world
Denmark starts big favorite to win the European Championship, an odds of 1.35, as you only find in basketball competitions where the Americans start.
The Danes have only two European titles in their records, in 2008 and 2012. In the previous edition, they obtained the silver medals. Instead, they dominate world competitions. They won the previous 4 editions. They also won the Olympic Games in Paris.
EHF experts Magnus Wislander, Lars Christiansen and Victor Tomas, 10 European gold medalists together, were asked to pick the favourite. Obviously, they all went to the hands of Mathias Gidsel and his colleagues.
It's pretty clear. Maybe we should discuss which team will lose the final against Denmark. Now, speaking seriously, the Danes are big favorites for the gold, having extraordinary players like Mathias Gidsel, Simon Pytlick or Jorgensen. I think it's time for the first Danish MVP as well, and Gidsel is the one I'm betting on
– Magnus Wislander, 4 times European champion with Sweden
If you're a 4-time world champion and Olympic title holder, then you're automatically the favorite now too: especially since you're playing at home. My mind and heart tell me that Denmark will become European champions. Only they can defeat themselves. But I know coach Nikolaj Jacobsen too well and I'm sure they won't end up in that scenario
– Lars Christiansen, double European champion with Denmark
It may sound boring, but Denmark is not only one step ahead of the others, but two, three. Especially since the final stage is played at her home. There is no doubt about the winner. The only nationals that can give the Danes some problems are those from France and Sweden, then comes a platoon that includes Spain, Portugal, Croatia and Germany. Not sure about Norway.
– Victor Tomas, world champion with Spain
10 curiosities about the European Men's Handball Championship
For Romania is the fourth edition of the European in which he takes part: 1994 (11th place), 1996 (9th place), 2024 (22nd place).
Sweden is the most successful national team in the history of the competition, with 5 gold medals, the most recent in 2022. France won 4 times. Spain, Denmark and Germany lifted the trophy twice each. Russia has a gold.
Spain and France they are the only national teams that have participated in all 16 editions.
Sander Sagosen (30 years old), currently at Aalborg, holds the record for the most goals scored in one edition, 65, in the year 2020. He is also now part of the Norway squad.
Sander Sagosen // Photo: Imago
The Faroe Islands participate for the second time in a European Championship. Around 6,500 Faroese supporters bought tickets for matches in Norway, over 10% of the country's population.
The goalscorers at Euro 2024 were the Portuguese Martin Costa and the Danish Mathias Gidselwith 54 goals each. Both will be Romania's opponents in the groups.
Jyske Bank Boxen, the arena that will host the final, has a capacity of 15,000 seats. In total, 29 matches will be played here.
The Euro 2026 mascot is Splasha “spokesperson for the concept of sustainability”.
Splash, Euro 2026 mascot
Today, on the first day of the competition, the matches of groups A and C are scheduled. From 19:00, France – Czech Republic and Spain – Serbia will be played. From 21:30, handball fans can enjoy Germany – Austria and Norway – Ukraine.
At Euro 2024, Romania lost all 3 matches in the preliminary group: 24-31 against Austria, 24-36 against Spain and 25-31 against Croatia.
Euro 2026 winning odds: Romania has the last chance
- Denmark – 1.35
- Sweden – 7.00
- France – 9.00
- Norway – 15.00
- Iceland – 20.00
- Germany – 25.00
- Croatia – 30.00
- Slovenia – 30.00
- Spain – 40.00
- Hungary – 150.00
- Portugal – 250.00
- Faroe Islands – 300.00
- Serbia – 400.00
- Italy – 750.00
- Switzerland – 750.00
- Austria – 1000.00
- Montenegro – 1500.00
- Poland – 1500.00
- Czech Republic – 2500.00
- Netherlands – 2500.00
- North Macedonia – 3000.00
- Ukraine – 4000.00
- Georgia – 5000.00
- Romania – 5000.00
Romania debuts on January 16
Romania debuts in the tournament on January 16, from 19:00, against Portugal.
Next is the match with Denmark, on January 18, from 21:30.
The last and easiest game in the group will be on January 20, from 19:00, against North Macedonia.
The team called by the selector George Buricea:
- Goalkeepers: Ionut Iancu (Dinamo), Mihai Popescu (Potaissa Turda)
- Far left: Alexandru Andrei (Poli Timisoara), Denis Vereș (Potaissa Turda)
- Far right: Sorin Grigore (CSU Suceava), Ionuț Nistor (Dinamo)
- Enter left: Tudor Botea (Minaur Baia Mare), Andrei Buzle (Dinamo), Robert Militaru (Dinamo), Răzvan Trif (Poli Timisoara), Dan Racotea (Górnik Zabrze)
- Enter right: Ionuț Stănescu (Wybrzeze Gdansk), Cristian Ghiță (Potaissa Turda)
- COORDINATOR: Daniel Stanciuc (Dinamo), Ștefan Cumpanici (Minaur Baia Mare)
- pivot: Călin Dedu (Dinamo), Robert Nagy (Minaur Baia Mare), Andras Szasz (Poli Timisoara).
- Andrei Drăgan, Dan Vasile, Demis Grigoraș, Gabriel Ilie, Liviu Caba and Erik Pop are absent for medical reasons
