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| ==Promotion round== | ==Promotion round== | ||
| Six teams participate in this round: the winner of the Phase 1, the four of the lowest-ranked fourth-ranked teams in the ] and the best European team of the ]. It will be held between 6 and 12 January 2026. | Six teams participate in this round: the winner of the Phase 1, the four of the lowest-ranked fourth-ranked teams in the ] and the best European team of the ]. It will be held between 6 and 12 January 2026. | ||
| ===Participating teams=== | |||
| {| class="wikitable" style="width: 800px;" | |||
| |- | |||
| ! style="width: 70%;" | Qualification method | |||
| ! style="width: 30%;" | Team(s) | |||
| |- | |||
| | Winner of ] || | |||
| |- | |||
| | {{nowrap|Four of the lowest-ranked fourth-ranked teams in the ]}} || | |||
| |- | |||
| | Best European team at the ] || | |||
| |} | |||
| ==Qualification Phase 2== | ==Qualification Phase 2== | ||
Revision as of 17:07, 10 January 2025
This article describes the qualification process for the 2028 European Men's Handball Championship and EHF Euro Cup.
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;
- Top-ranked team 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
|
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 37 | 14 | +23 | 2 | Promotion round |
| 2 |  Cyprus
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 3 |  Bulgaria (H)
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 4 |  Malta
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 37 | −23 | 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
|
v | Bulgaria
|
Palace of Culture and Sports, Varna Referees: Pirvu, Potirniche (ROU) |
| Report | ||||
| 11 January 2025 15:00 |
Cyprus
|
v | Great Britain
|
Palace of Culture and Sports, Varna Referees: Pirvu, Potirniche (ROU) |
| Report | ||||
| 11 January 2025 17:30 |
Bulgaria
|
v | Malta
|
Palace of Culture and Sports, Varna Referees: Bujupi, Bujupi (KOS) |
| Report | ||||
| 12 January 2025 13:00 |
Malta
|
v | Cyprus
|
Palace of Culture and Sports, Varna Referees: Bujupi, Bujupi (KOS) |
| Report | ||||
| 12 January 2025 15:30 |
Bulgaria
|
v | Great Britain
|
Palace of Culture and Sports, Varna Referees: Pirvu, Potirniche (ROU) |
| Report | ||||
Promotion round
Six teams participate in this round: the winner of the Phase 1, the four 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.
Participating teams
| Qualification method | Team(s) |
|---|---|
| Winner of Qualification Phase 1 | |
| Four of the lowest-ranked fourth-ranked teams in the Men's EHF EURO 2026 Qualifiers | |
| Best European team at the 2025 IHF Emerging Nations Championship |
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.
Qualified teams
| Country | Qualified as | Date qualification was secured | Previous appearances in tournament |
|---|---|---|---|
 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) | ||
 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.