It starts on January 15, 2026 Handball-European Championships in Denmark, Sweden and Norway. 24 teams are fighting for a place in the European Championship final, which will take place on February 1st in Herning, Denmark.
In ours Game plan for Handball-EM 2026 you will find all games and dates. You can also find tables and live tickers for the games in our data center.
The groups of the 2026 European Handball Championship
The preliminary round of the European Handball Championship consists of six groups with four teams each. The top two groups qualify for the main round.
- Group A in Herning: DeutschlandSpain, Austria, Serbia
- Group B in Herning: Denmark, Portugal, North Macedonia, Romania
- Group C in Oslo: France, Norway, Czech Republic, Ukraine
- Group D in Oslo: Slovenia, Faroe Islands, Montenegro, Switzerland
- Group E in Malmö: Sweden, Croatia, Netherlands, Georgia
- Group F in Kristianstad: Hungary, Iceland, Poland, Italy
:Braving the “anti-handball” with strong nerves
The start was successful: the German handball players defeated Austria with 30:27 goals. Goalkeeper Andreas Wolff follows up his pithy words before the game with action.
Germany at the 2026 European Handball Championship
The German national team started the European Championship with a victory and deservedly won the opening game against Austria with 30:27. Captain Johannes Golla contributed seven hits as the best German thrower. In the next game, Germany will face Serbia, and on the last match day the two-time European champions Spain will be waiting for the DHB team.
- January 15, 2026, 8:30 p.m.: Deutschland – Austria 30:27
- January 17, 2026, 8:30 p.m.: Serbia – Deutschland (ARD)
- January 19, 2026, 8:30 p.m.: Deutschland – Spain (ZDF)
:His team’s biggest fan
Alfred Gislason has now collected more than 100 international matches as national coach. But his contract ends in 2027 and the farewell tour begins – and he’s having a lot of fun with his players right now.
Schedule of the 2026 European Handball Championships
Squad of the German national team
18 national players are in the squad for the 2026 European Handball Championship, national coach Alfred Gislason called up the squad on December 17th. The national team is led by captain Johannes Golla, goalkeeper Andreas Wolff has the most international matches in the squad with 185, followed by Jannik Kohlbacher. Together with left winger Rune Dahmke, these three players are the last in the DHB team to be part of the 2016 European Championship success. Gislason also nominated six players who will become U21 world champions in 2023. The DHB squad at a glance (Stand 19.12.):
- Tor: David Späth (23 years old, Rhein-Neckar Löwen, 44 international matches, 3 goals), Andreas Wolff (34, THW Kiel, 185, 15)
- Left winger: Rune Dahmke (32, THW Kiel, 94, 137), Lukas Mertens (29, SC Magdeburg, 68, 151)
- Backcourt on the left: Marko Grgic (22, SG Flensburg-Handewitt, 29, 88), Tom Kiesler (24, VfL Gummersbach, 2, 0), Julian Köster (25, VfL Gummersbach, 73, 192), Matthes Langhoff (23, Füchse Berlin, 1, 1), Miro Schluroff (25, VfL Gummersbach, 6, 17)
- Back center: Juri Knorr (25, Aalborg Handbold, 81, 311), Nils Lichtlein (23, Füchse Berlin, 29, 32)
- Backcourt on the right: Franz Semper (28, SC DHfK Leipzig, 28, 59), Renars Uscins (23, TSV Hannover-Burgdorf, 43, 172)
- Right winger: Mathis Häseler (23, VfL Gummersbach, 4, 7), Lukas Zerbe (29, THW Kiel, 45, 98)
- Kreis: Justus Fischer (22, TSV Hannover-Burgdorf, 32, 40), Johannes Golla (28, SG Flensburg-Handewitt, 106, 370), Jannik Kohlbacher (30, Rhein-Neckar Löwen, 125, 239)
Successful dress rehearsal against Croatia
At their dress rehearsal on January 11th, the national team beat vice world champion Croatia 33:27. Goalkeeper Andreas Wolff had a strong day, the best German throwers were Renars Uscins and Lukas Zerbe with five goals each. This meant that the DHB team was able to win the last two test games before the European Championships against Croatia.
Arrival on January 13th
After a media day on January 12th, the national team traveled to Silkeborg in Denmark a day later. As in the previous year, the DHB team will be based there at the Handball World Championship. Silkeborg is around 40 kilometers from Herning, where the German team will start the tournament on January 15th.
:“The hardest tournament I’ve ever played”
The German handball players are traveling to the European Championships in Scandinavia. In his luggage: two convincing test match victories against Croatia. But also the certainty that the demands of the tournament will be even higher.
Venues of the European Handball Championships
The 2026 European Handball Championship will take place in Denmark, Sweden and Norway. For Denmark it is the second European Handball Championship, Sweden and Norway are holding the tournament for the third time. The venues at a glance:
- Herning (Denmark): Jyske Bank Boxes, maximum 15,000 places
- Malmö (Sweden): Malmö Arena, 13,000 seats (for handball)
- Oslo (Norway): Unity Arena, 15,000 seats (for sporting events)
- Kristianstad (Sweden): Kristianstad Arena, 4700 seats
Mode of the 2026 European Handball Championship
24 nations compete in the Preliminary round The teams play in six groups of four teams each. The top two in a group qualify for the main round, the points and goals from the direct encounter are taken by the two teams that advance.
Die Hauptrunde consists of two groups with six teams each. The teams no longer play against their opponents from the preliminary round, so there are still four games to play in the main round. The top two teams in the group advance to the semi-finals, the two third-placed teams play for fifth place.
:“Why should one kneel before Denmark?”
“I have everything you need”: Italy’s national coach Bob Hanning explains at the start of the European Handball Championship why he is a stroke of luck for the Azzurri, how Germany can play for gold – and why he won’t let national coach Alfred Gislason shut him down.
The European Handball Championship on TV
ARD and ZDF show the German national team’s games alternately live on TV and in the live stream. The public broadcasters will also broadcast 30 additional games in live streams on sportstudio.de and in their media libraries.
The Sport Streaming Service Dyn has secured the rights for the entire European Championship; all European Championship games will be broadcast on the platform.
The European handball champions at a glance
Sweden is the record European champion with five titles, followed by France, who won the European Championship four times. Germany is in fifth place behind Spain and Denmark in the medal table with two wins, two silvers and one bronze.
- 1994: Sweden
- 1996: Russia
- 1998: Sweden
- 2000: Sweden
- 2002: Sweden
- 2004: Deutschland
- 2006: France
- 2008: Denmark
- 2010: France
- 2012: Denmark
- 2014: France
- 2016: Deutschland
- 2018: Spain
- 2020: Spain
- 2022: Sweden
- 2024: France
With material from dpa.
