The national team led by the coach of Dinamo Bucharest announced the squad for Euro 2026

The European Men's Handball Championship will be held during the period January 15 – February 1 in Denmark, Norway and Sweden. Romania, qualified for the second consecutive final tournament, will perform in group B, along with Denmark, Portugal and North Macedonia. The games will be played in Jyske Bank Boxen in Herning, Denmark.

The Tricolors will debut at Euro 2026 against Portugal, the “revelation” of the World Championship earlier this year. The Lusitanians reached the small final and placed fourth, showing an excellent game.

Portugal will try to confirm their value at next month's European Championship, and Paulo Pereira has announced the squad he will rely on during the preparation period. 9 of the 22 players from the list evolves abroad.

Portugal squad for Euro 2026 preparations

Goalkeepers:

• Diogo Valerio (Olympiacos Piraeus, Greece)

• Gustavo Capdeville (SL Benfica)

• Miguel Ferreira (RK Vardar, Macedonia)

Far left:

Far right:

Left Integers:

• Gabriel Cavalcanti (SL Benfica)

• Joao Lourenco (CB Nava, Spain)

• Martim Costa (Sporting CP)

• Miguel Neves (Saint-Raphael, France)

• Salvador Salvador (Sporting CP)

Inte right:

• Diogo Silva (Maritimo Madeira)

• Francisco Costa (Sporting CP)

• Guilherme Tavares (Ciudad Encantada, Spain)

• Joao Gomes (Gummersbach, Germany)

Pivots:

• Antonio Machado (Vitoria SC)

• Luis Frade (Barcelona, ​​Spain)

• Ricardo Brandao (FC Porto)

• Victor Iturriza (Kuwait)

Coordinators:

Paulo Pereira, coach of Portugal and Dinamo Bucharest/Photo: portal.fpa.pt

Paulo Pereira explained why preparations start on December 28: “Sportsmen need rest”

The “heroes of the sea”, as the Portuguese have called themselves, will gather on December 28 in Rio Maior, where they will stay until January 7, when they will leave for Pamplona, ​​Spain, for a tour with 5 more national teams: Spain, Tunisia, Slovakia, Egypt and Iran.

After 3 friendlies, Pereira's men will briefly return to Portugal and then on January 14th fly to Herning, Denmark.

“We will only start in the 28th because athletes need rest, especially those who are used more and play in European competitions. Some of them really need to recover and will only start on January 2nd. In any case, it is equally important that they are not inactive for too long”, said the coach of Dinamo and the Portuguese national team, according to the official website of the Portuguese Handball Federation.

Romania's schedule in Group B:

• January 16, 19:00 » Portugal vs. Romania

• January 18, 21:30 » Romania vs. Denmark

• January 20, 19:00 » North Macedonia vs. Romania