Poland and Hungary win EHF Championship

EHF / Tim Dettmar

12 July 2026, 20:25

Poland successfully defended their gold from two years ago in the men’s competition of the EHF Beach Handball Championship, while the Hungarian women completed the three-peat against France in a final rematch from two years ago. Czechia wrote one of the tournament's biggest success stories, reaching the men’s final. Bronze went to the Netherlands on the men's side and to Portugal on the women's.

With the conclusion of the EHF Beach Handball Championship 2026, played in the Croatian capital Zagreb, the line-up for the EHF Beach Handball EURO 2027 is now complete. 16 teams in women's and 16 in men's competition will compete for the European glory in Druskininkai, Lithuania, next summer.

Women’s EHF Beach Handball Championship 2026

Hungary beat France in the final rematch from 2024 (17:12, 18:24, 7:2); they quickly secured a six-point lead to start the first set, which could not be erased by the French team as they struggled massively in attack, shooting less than 40 per cent of their shots in the first eight minutes; Hungary made fewer mistakes and secured a 17:12 after ten minutes
In the second set, France showed why they belonged in the final; a more efficient offence put pressure on Hungary to answer, which the Magyar’s could not do between the sixth and eighth minute, seeing France build a solid eight-point lead and forcing the shoot-out for the title (24:18)
In the shoot-out, Hungary goalkeeper Dalma Mátéfi became the match winner, saving two French shots in the first and third rounds of shooters; Nora Nagy-Agoston secured the title with a one-point attempt to make it 7:2
With this victory, the Magyar’s complete the title three-peat in the qualification; two years ago, Hungary celebrated a hard-fought victory (19:16, 26:24) in the final against France and also secured the title in 2022 against Poland
Before the final, Portugal beat Ukraine in the bronze medal match; the first set was closely matched throughout the first seven minutes. After that, Portugal scored six unanswered points to pull away and decide the first ten minutes (29:20); it was a similar sight in the second set: 14:14 after seven minutes, with Portugal creating a sufficient gap during the last three minutes (21:18)
Ukraine finished the tournament in fourth place for the second time, after losing the bronze medal match 0:2 against Sweden two years ago
In the semi-finals earlier on Sunday, Hungary celebrated a convincing victory against Ukraine in two sets (29:22, 21:18); the Magyar’s needed only three minutes to find their footing in the match, further extending their early four-point lead to up to ten points; Hungary controlled the second set from the get-go, always maintaining a comfortable lead after scoring the first four points in the set; Ukraine mounted a 6:2 run in the final two minutes of the match, but their deficit was too high
Initially, it was closer between France and Portugal, as France took the first set 24:18, fuelled by two scoring runs of six and four unanswered points, respectively; in the second set, France kept their momentum going, creating a 13:4 lead after five minutes, never looking back and winning the set 25:12
In the placement matches 5-8, Czechia came out on top after beating Sweden in a shoot-out (28:16, 14:28, 7:4) to secure fifth place in a thriller against Poland (18:17, 21:20); prior, Poland beat Italy in a shoot-out (21:18, 16:22, 8:4) and finish in sixth; Sweden went on to beat Italy in the 7/8 placement match in two sets (16:14, 30:26)
The teams which played in the consolation round for places 9 – 13 finished in the following order: Serbia, Slovakia, Türkiye, Cyprus, Switzerland
Alongside previously qualified teams for the EURO 2027, Spain, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, Greece, Croatia, and Lithuania (host), the remaining eight places have now been confirmed. Those go to Czechia, France, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Sweden and Ukraine

France Hungary (Women) Gold Medal Match 1JC3992 JC — kolektiff

France Cyprus (Women) 1JC0783 JC — kolektiff

France Hungary (Women) Gold Medal Match 1JC4128 JC — kolektiff

France Hungary (Women) Gold Medal Match 1JC4250 JC — kolektiff

Portugal Ukraine (Women) Bronze Medal Match 1JC3035 JC — kolektiff

Portugal Ukraine (Women) Bronze Medal Match UH29069 UH — kolektiff

Portugal Ukraine (Women) Bronze Medal Match UH29356 UH — kolektiff

Portugal Ukraine (Women) Bronze Medal Match UH29672 UH — kolektiff

Men’s EHF Beach Handball Championship 2026

Poland completed the perfect tournament, winning all their eight matches en route to defending their title from two years ago; they quickly created a four-point gap and controlled the first set to their liking; Czechia shortly cut the deficit to three, but Poland showed one of their biggest qualities from this week: remaining calm and continuing to play their style, winning the first set 20:16
A double save from Czech goalkeeper Matyáš Janošek and the following 10:8 lead gave his team some hope to force a shoot-out four minutes into the second set; yet Poland proved to be too calm and collected once more, even leading by six only three minutes later; this quick turnaround was crucial to secure the second set by 29:26 and start the title celebrations
Czechia reaching the final is one of the incredible stories of this tournament and shows the strides they have taken in the last couple of years; two years ago, Czechia finished 8th out of ten teams; this year, Czechia beat Sweden, Norway, and Ukraine, who finished second, fourth, and sixth, respectively, in the 2024 edition
The Netherlands claimed the bronze medal, beating Norway in a shoot-out (20:25, 23:22, 13:12); the sides showed off an offensive spectacle in the first ten minutes with some fantastic combinations in the Croatian sand, with Norway being more efficient; in the second set, Norway had the better start, but the Netherlands turned the tie around after five minutes to force a shoot-out;
In the shoot-out, the sides went flawlessly until the seventh round, when Silas Speckmann saved Pijus Petrauskas’ attempt, setting up Stijn Krijgsman, who secured the Dutch bronze medal
In the semi-finals earlier Sunday, Poland cemented their status as one of the best teams of the competition, extending their perfect record to seven wins from seven matches; Czechia ended Norway’s perfect record (five from five until the semi-final) to meet Poland in the final
Poland beat the Netherlands in two sets (25:18, 21:16); in the first set, Polish goalkeeper Krystian Matusiak performed superbly, stopping numerous Dutch shot attempts; in the second set, the Dutch had the better start, but Poland kept their cool to turn the tie back in their favour
Norway dominated the first set against Czechia (26:16), as Sivert Johansen Sporlid and Kristoffer Stenberg Henriksen combined for 20 points; in the second set, the Czechs hit back, leading 10:4 after three minutes and containing that lead until the end of the set (27:24)
In the shoot-out, the sides’ misses in rounds three (Norway) and four (Czechia) cancelled each other out to force a sudden-death situation; Kristoffer Henriksen’s shot went above the Czech goal, setting up Pavel Chotěborský’s one-point attempt to send the Czechs to the gold medal match
Sweden beat Türkiye (29:14, 21:14) and Ukraine beat Cyprus (28:20, 18:25, 7:4) in the first round of the placement matches to secure their spots at the EHF Beach Handball EURO 2027; in the battle for fifth, Sweden came out victorious, winning against Ukraine in two sets (17:14, 24:16)
Due to these results, Türkiye and Cyprus not only fought for seventh in the tournament, but also the last remaining ticket to next year’s Beach Handball EURO; in a close encounter, Türkiye twice managed to respond to a good start to the set from Cyprus to clinch seventh and a spot at next year’s tournament (19:16, 16:13)
Switzerland, Latvia, and Serbia battled in the consolation round for places 9-11 and finished in the aforementioned order, with Switzerland beating Latvia in a dramatic 9/10 placement match in a shoot-out (22:21, 26:27, 9:6)
Teams that have already qualified for the EHF Beach Handball EURO 2027, Germany, Spain, Croatia, Hungary, France, Portugal, Denmark, Italy, Lithuania (host), are now joined by Czechia, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Türkiye and Ukraine