Article by David Istrate – Published Friday, April 17, 2026, 5:56 p.m. / Updated Friday, April 17, 2026, 5:59 p.m.
Lorena Ostase (28 years old), one of the leaders of the Romanian women's national handball team, gave GSP.ro a first reaction related to Romania's EURO 2026 group. The tricolors will play in Cluj-Napoca, in group B, with Norway, Switzerland and North Macedonia.
Thursday, April 16, in Katowice, Poland, took place this year's European Women's Handball Championship group draw (December 3-20). Romania is one of the 5 host countries, Oradea and Cluj-Napoca being the cities where matches from the final tournament will be held.
Ovidiu Mihăilă's students will play in BTarena in Cluj-Napoca, in group B, alongside Norway, the multiple European, world and Olympic champion, Switzerland and North Macedonia.
Lorena Ostase wants the hall to be full in Cluj: “I hope word gets out in the country that the national handball team is playing at home”
A day after the draw, Lorena Ostase, one of Romania's leaders, in an interview for GSP.ro, expressed her thoughts about the national team's opponents.
“We knew before the draw that it would be a tough group, given that we are 5 host countries. There is no home advantage anymore. For us, the only advantage will be to play in the superb arena in Cluj and we hope to be able to fill it, until then word will spread in the country that the national handball team is playing at home”, said the pivot of Gloria Bistrita.
In the EHF Euro Cup, a competition in which the national teams already qualified for EURO 2026 participated, Romania played twice with Norway and had a good match in the round and one below expectations in the return. In December, the tricolors will duel again with the strongest national team in the world.
“In recent years, in all the international competitions that I have had with the national team, we have met Denmark, Norway, Denmark, Norway. Years in a row. I think we knew that we would meet a superpower. I remember that we also met France many times, but I would like to see the growth and the result of the work that we have done and that we will do until the next match,” said Ostase.
“We know that now, in the EHF Euro Cup, we have played with them. It was not what we wanted for ourselves, for everyone. I hope this difference is seen by December“, she concluded.
EHF EURO 2026 groups
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Group A (Oradea): Hungary, Montenegro, Slovenia, Iceland
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Group B (Cluj-Napoca): Norway, ROMANIA, Switzerland, North Macedonia
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Group C (Antalya): Denmark, Spain, Turkey, Greece
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Group D (Brno): Netherlands, Austria, Czech Republic, Croatia
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Group E (Katowice): France, Poland, Faroe Islands, Ukraine
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Group F (Bratislava): Sweden, Germany, Slovakia, Serbia
Romania's program in group B
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Friday, December 4 vs. Norway
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Sunday, December 6 vs. Macedonia
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Tuesday, December 8 vs. Switzerland
Ovidiu Mihailă: “A very difficult final European tournament awaits us”
If the good God brought Norway into Romania's group, it certainly represents a great professional challenge in terms of the result of the second leg of the EHF EURO CUP. We must show a particularly great mental strength to prove that the difference created was simply an unlucky day, as I strongly believe. These girls are of a special human quality!
Then playing Switzerland is obviously a big challenge because we beat them in the recent world cup by a big margin, but no game is like another at this level. So there are aspects that challenge you to be at an extraordinarily high level, both mentally, physically, and technically-tactically!
Regarding North Macedonia, I don't have any information yet, but at this level it must be treated with the utmost seriousness! Important to have all healthy girls. A very tough European final tournament awaits us
– Ovidiu Mihăilă, the coach of the national teamquoted by FRH
