Live blog: Germany, France close; Hungary lead early vs Croatia

• day 14 of the Men's EHF EURO 2026
• Iceland beat Slovenia 39:31 to reach semi-finals; Portugal take 35:27 victory over Spain 
• at 18:00 CET, Germany vs France, Croatia vs Hungary
• at 20:30 CET, Denmark vs Norway, Switzerland vs Sweden
• read the day previews for group I and group II
• find out what teams in group I and group II need to progress
• check the main round standings
• find out how to follow the men's EHF EURO online, on TV and on social media
• vote for the Player of the Match on the Home of Handball app, 15 minutes before each game's final whistle

14:55

Just over half an hour until throw-off for the early matches, and here's some of today's facts and stats:

• both Slovenia and Iceland have won 36 EHF EURO matches in their history; on a head-to-head basis, Slovenia have won four to Iceland's one
• victory for Spain over Portugal would be their 80th EHF EURO win
• Martim Costa, Francisco Costa and António Areia have all joined the top five Portuguese scorers of all time at the EHF EURO during this tournament; Francisco Costa is currently level with Mathias Gidsel on 47 goals as the top scorer of the EHF EURO 2026
• Germany are hunting their 60th EHF EURO win and only their second against France at the tournament, although things are more even across all official meetings where Germany have won 14 matches, France 17, and there have been four draws
• it is 30 years since Croatia have beaten Hungary at an EHF EURO - they have met three times at the European championship since then, with Hungary winning every time
• one goal for Sander Sagosen puts him on 225 all-time EHF EURO goals
• in four EHF EURO meetings, Norway have beaten Denmark once, in 2006
• Switzerland's best-ever EHF EURO finish was 12th, in 2004 - they could beat that tonight with a strong performance against Sweden

14:30

Our social media team have been creating so much great content during the tournament. The Home of Handball on Instagram has a particularly strong meme game, make sure you follow them!

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14:15

Time is ticking fast towards throw-off for the first games of the day. Here's the stat of the day, focusing on how fast France have been scoring through this tournament. Very few teams have managed to slow them down so far!

13:50

In a series of meetings between neighbours and familiar rivals, tonight's game between France and Germany is perhaps the match between the two teams who know each other best. Although they have both gone through a change in generations lately, you can always guarantee an exciting match when these two giants of handball meet. Kevin Domas and Björn Pazen have picked out the top six previous games for you.

13:40

Once again, in the last round the goalkeepers were on fire - quite how they make some of these saves is baffling!

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13:15

With round 3 of the main round complete last night, it's time for the top 5 goals of days 12 and 13. The last one is immense, and made us all gasp when we saw it live last night.

12:45

In group II, despite the closeness of the standings, Switzerland and Hungary cannot make it to Herning even for the 5/6 placement match.

That leaves four teams in the race for the top three spots: Croatia, Iceland, Slovenia and Sweden. Croatia and Iceland have the most control over things: both are through to the semi-finals with a win, and both could make it through with a draw depending on other results.

Slovenia need a win and Sweden to lose to reach the semi-finals; Sweden need a win and for Croatia and Iceland’s results to go their way.

Find out more in the preview and calculations articles.

12:30

Starting off today’s build-up with a look at group I.

The key match to watch for will be the middle game at 18:00 between Germany and France. Germany can qualify for the semi-finals with a win or draw, but France need a win thanks to their defeats by Denmark and Spain.

The other three teams – Norway, Spain and Portugal – all have a mathematical chance of making the 5/6 placement match. Reaching this stage this year will qualify that team for the 2027 IHF Men’s World Championship, as Germany (hosts) and Denmark (defending champions) are already qualified, and there are four other world championship qualification spots up for grabs at this EHF EURO.

Read the preview and the calculations for what needs to happen for each team to progress below.

12:00

Welcome to a wonderful Wednesday at the Men's EHF EURO 2026!

The last two days have shown that absolutely nothing can be predicted in this championship, with three draws in six games and the other games almost as tight. So we're set up for one of the best days of handball yet. 

First off, let's look back at last night's action from Malmö, which gave Croatia the best position in the group to reach the semi-finals but leaves three other teams in touching distance. Here's 'The Spin' to bring you up to speed.