Draw procedure for Men’s EHF EURO 2026 Qualifiers revealed

Denmark, Sweden and Norway are the hosts of the Men’s EHF EURO 2026 final tournament, which will feature 24 teams. The three organizing nations, as well as the reigning champions France, are directly qualified for the final tournament and will compete in the Men’s EHF EURO CUP 2026.

32 teams will fight for the 20 spots available, as they will be drawn into eight groups of four teams each. The first and second-ranked teams of each group will secure their place in the final tournament, as well as the four best third-ranked teams. This ranking includes only the results of the four matches of third-ranked teams against the two teams ranked first and second in the group. The results of the two matches against the teams ranked fourth in the group will not be considered.

Up to a maximum of four lowest-ranked teams of the fourth-ranked teams in the Men’s EHF EURO 2026 Qualifiers are relegated to the “Promotion Round” of the Men’s EHF EURO 2028 Qualifiers.

The teams are divided into four pots according to the respective EHF Men’s National Team Ranking:

The draw procedure is as follows:

Step 1: 8 teams of pot 4 are drawn to row 4

Step 2: 8 teams of pot 3 are drawn to row 3

Step 3: SRB is drawn to row 2 (not in group with KOS)

Step 4: 7 remaining teams of pot 2 are drawn to row 2

Step 5: 8 teams of pot 1 are drawn to row 1

The Men’s EHF EURO 2026 Qualifiers and Men’s EHF EURO CUP 2026 will be played in three periods of two matches each (six rounds), as the playing schedule is based on four teams in each group.

Round 1: Wednesday 6 – Thursday 7 November 2024

Round 2: Saturday 9 – Sunday 10 November 2024

Round 3: Wednesday 12 – Thursday 13 March 2025

Round 4: Saturday 15 – Sunday 16 March 2025

Round 5: Wednesday 7 – Thursday 8 May 2025

Round 6: Sunday 11 May 2025 (18:00 CEST)

The draw will be streamed live on EHFTV and Home of Handball Youtube channel (geo-blocking may apply) on 21 March, at 16:30 CET.

Photo © Anze Malovrh / kolektiffimages