Romania (ROU)

A former powerhouse in world handball, Romania secured a place at EHF EURO 2026 as one of the four best third-placed teams in the qualifiers, but given the competition in group 8, there was always a chance that one of Portugal, Poland or Romania could end up qualifying via that path. Now, the Romanians have notched up back-to-back appearances at the European championships for only the second time in their history, repeating their feat from the mid-1990s, and making this their fourth EHF EURO participation overall.

The coach, George Buricea, boasts an experienced squad with the likes of Dan Racotea as one of the key players, but Daniel Stanciuc and Calin Dedu are spearheading the new wave of talented Romanian players, a fearless centre back and line player, respectively, who played vital roles in the qualifiers. Unfortunately, one of the team's key players, Demis Grigoras, will not be able to help his teammates in Herning, due to an injury sustained just a couple of months before the final tournament, which is a big blow for their aspirations. 

Romania finished in a low 22nd place at EHF EURO 2024 with three defeats in the preliminary round, and even though matching their best result of ninth back in 1996 remains unlikely to be matched for now, Buricea's squad will aim to improve on their 2024 results. Romania are group B's underdogs, but they have already played and won once against Portugal in the qualifiers and also, Portugal coach Pereira is also in charge of Dinamo Bucuresti, which surely gives them hope of having something up their sleeve when they meet their Portuguese opponents.

Competition records:
Number of EHF EURO participations, including 2026: 4