Portugal (POR)

The high-flying Portuguese are not the worst-kept secret in handball anymore, as the seventh-ranked national team from the EHF EURO 2024 cruised through the qualifiers and secured a place at the EHF EURO 2026 by finishing on top of group 8, ahead of both Poland and Romania. The upcoming tournament will mark Portugal's fourth consecutive appearance at the European championship and their ninth overall, with the EHF EURO 2028 already on the nation's minds, as they will be one of the co-hosts alongside Switzerland and neighbours Spain.

Paulo Pereira's squad have left a big mark in handball over the past few years, and Portugal continues to impress on the court with their contagious youthful energy and electric performances. Led by 20-year-old sensation Francisco Costa and his older brother, Martim, plus the likes of Luis Frade and Salvador Salvador, the Portuguese squad possesses both quality and character to hurt anyone. With that being said, Portugal's fairly young squad has accumulated its fair share of experience by not only participating, but also winning, at major tournaments as of late; reaching the 2025 IHF World Championship semi-finals is undoubtedly the national team's biggest success in its history.

Getting on the podium at a major tournament for the first time might be the biggest motivation for Portugal and EHF EURO 2026 can potentially be another tournament where the Pereira-led squad might go far. Their mixture of youth, quality and experience may see them get close to the heights of finishing in sixth place at EHF EURO 2020, where they were defeated in a fierce battle in the match for fifth place.

Finally, even though the competition is high in group B, Portugal have shown in recent times that they can compete with the very best and there is no reason to believe they cannot replicate their success, although their rivals will be much more aware of their qualities than they were in previous tournaments.

Competition records:
Number of EHF EURO participations, including 2026: 9