2028 European Men's Handball Championship qualification
This article describes the qualification process for the 2028 European Men's Handball Championship and EHF Euro Cup.[1]
Format
Prior to the qualification, four teams were automatically qualified:
- Portugal, Spain and Switzerland as co-hosts;
- The best-placed team from the 2026 European Men's Handball Championship, other than the 2028 tournament co-hosts.
The remaining eligible teams contest a qualification tournament to determine the teams securing the remaining 20 places in the final tournament. The qualification tournament consists of three rounds: qualification phase 1, promotion round, and qualification phase 2.
- Qualification phase 1:
- Four teams;
- Round-robin tournament format;
- The two top-ranked teams after all matches played advances to the promotion round.
- Promotion round:
- Six teams:
- Qualification phase 1 winner,
- Four of the lowest-ranked fourth-placed teams of the previous cycle qualifiers round,
- Best European team at the 2025 IHF Emerging Nations Championship;
- Two-legged tie format;
- Three aggregate winners advance to the qualification phase 2.
- Six teams:
- Qualification phase 2:
- Thirty-two teams:
- Three promotion round winners
- Remaining eight teams eliminated in the previous cycle qualifiers round
- Twenty teams that participated in the 2026 European Championship, but did not qualify directly to the 2028 final tournament
- Round-robin tournament format: eight groups of four teams;
- Group winners, group runners-up, and the four best third-placed teams qualify for the final tournament.
- Thirty-two teams:
Qualification Phase 1
Since only four teams participate in this round, no draw was needed.
Standings
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Great Britain | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 92 | 67 | +25 | 5 | Promotion round |
| 2 |  Cyprus | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 91 | 67 | +24 | 4 | |
| 3 |  Bulgaria (H) | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 78 | 62 | +16 | 3 | |
| 4 |  Malta | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 45 | 110 | −65 | 0 |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) goal difference.
(H) Hosts
Results
All times are local (UTC+2).
| 10 January 2025 15:00 | Great Britain | 37–14 | Malta | Palace of Culture and Sports, Varna Attendance: 50 Referees: Bujupi, Bujupi (KOS) |
| Pereira 6 | (18–7) | three players 2 | ||
3× | Report | 1× 4× |
| 10 January 2025 17:30 | Cyprus | 22–21 | Bulgaria | Palace of Culture and Sports, Varna Attendance: 600 Referees: Pirvu, Potirniche (ROU) |
| Karkalatos 6 | (9–11) | three players 5 | ||
| 1× 4× | Report | 5× |
| 11 January 2025 15:00 | Cyprus | 26–28 | Great Britain | Palace of Culture and Sports, Varna Attendance: 150 Referees: Pirvu, Potirniche (ROU) |
| Argyrou 6 | (11–15) | Hirel 6 | ||
| 2× 3× | Report | 1× 4× 1× |
| 11 January 2025 17:30 | Bulgaria | 30–13 | Malta | Palace of Culture and Sports, Varna Attendance: 1,000 Referees: Bujupi, Bujupi (KOS) |
| Yorgov 9 | (13–5) | Harrison 4 | ||
| 2× | Report |
| 12 January 2025 13:00 | Malta | 18–43 | Cyprus | Palace of Culture and Sports, Varna Attendance: 200 Referees: Bujupi, Bujupi (KOS) |
| Harrison, Spiteri 4 | (8–18) | Karkalatos 11 | ||
| 5× | Report | 3× |
| 12 January 2025 15:30 | Bulgaria | 27–27 | Great Britain | Palace of Culture and Sports, Varna Attendance: 2,500 Referees: Pirvu, Potirniche (ROU) |
| Dimitrov 6 | (11–13) | Pereira, Yonish 6 | ||
| 1× 5× | Report | 8× |
Promotion round
Six teams participate in this round: the first and seconde of the Phase 1, the three of the lowest-ranked fourth-ranked teams in the 2026 European Men's Handball Championship qualification and the best European team of the 2025 IHF Emerging Nations Championship. It will be held between 6 and 12 January 2026.[2] The draw took place on 26 June 2025.[3][4]
Participating teams
| Qualification method | Team(s) |
|---|---|
| First and seconde of Qualification Phase 1 | Great Britain Cyprus |
| Three of the lowest-ranked fourth-ranked teams in the Men's EHF EURO 2026 Qualifiers |  Turkey Estonia Latvia |
| Best European team at the 2025 IHF Emerging Nations Championship | Bulgaria |
Seeding
The seeding was announced on 24 June 2025.[3]
| Pot 1 | Pot 2 |
|---|---|
| Latvia Estonia Turkey | Great Britain Cyprus Bulgaria |
Overview
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bulgaria | – | Turkey | 7–8 Jan | 10–11 Jan |
| Cyprus | – | Estonia | 7–8 Jan | 10–11 Jan |
| Great Britain | – | Latvia | 7–8 Jan | 10–11 Jan |
Qualification Phase 2
Like in previous cycles, 32 teams will be divided into eight groups of four, to be played as round-robin tournaments. The eight group winners and runners-up qualify for the final tournament, together with the four best third-placed teams, which will be determined taking into account only results against top two teams in each group. It will be played between November 2026 and May 2027.
Qualified teams
| Country | Qualified as | Date qualification was secured | Previous appearances in tournament |
|---|---|---|---|
.svg.png){kind=small} Portugal | Co-hosts | 20 November 2021 | 8 (1994, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2020, 2022, 2024) |
 Spain | 16 (1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2024) | ||
.svg.png){kind=small} Switzerland | 5 (2002, 2004, 2006, 2020, 2024) |
Note: Bold indicates champion for that year. Italic indicates host for that year.
References
- ^ "EHF EURO hosts for 2026 & 2028 confirmed". European Handball Federation. 20 November 2021. Archived from the original on 21 November 2021. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
- ^ "Great Britain and Cyprus to EHF EURO 2028 Promotion Round". EHF. 13 January 2025.
- ^ a b "How to follow Men's EHF EURO 2028 Qualifiers promotion round draw". EHF. 24 June 2025.
- ^ "Next step in Men's EHF EURO 2028 Qualifiers set". EHF. 26 June 2025.