Two debutants and two former winners meet at EHF EURO Cup start
The Men's EHF EURO Cup 2028 throws off with two matches in round 1 on Wednesday (4 November). It is the fifth edition of the competition that runs parallel to the EHF EURO Qualifiers and features those teams that have already qualified for the EHF EURO final tournament. Two of the four participants have won the EHF EURO Cup before, and they meet Wednesday: Denmark and Spain. The other match pits two EHF EURO Cup debutants against each other: Portugal and Switzerland.
We finally have the opportunity to experience something we have never had before. We have played so many competitions away from home and, although we have always felt the support of Portuguese fans, being able to experience that atmosphere in Portugal will be extraordinary. First of all, it is important for us to put in a good performance [against Switzerland]. It has been some time since we were together, so this will be a challenge, but we are fully committed and focused on the match. Switzerland are a team that have consistently competed at international level and have some well-known players.
Portugal are clear medal contenders in my view, so this is a great opportunity to test ourselves at the highest international level. We want to play with freedom and use games like this to gain valuable experience as we build towards our home EHF EURO in 2028.
Spain really impressed me at the European Championship. They have been through a generational transition and have already made a lot of progress. They have plenty of options and are very good at adapting during games. I have great respect for Jordi Ribera and the work he has done, and I expect Spain to be right up there competing for the top places at the World Championship. They will be a very interesting and challenging team to face.
The truth is that we have a pretty demanding week ahead of us, which will be good for us to test ourselves before the championship against two top-tier rivals. We know they are going to be two very complicated matches. It's a week to work, especially trying to cement concepts and mechanics with the teammates who have been here for less time, a bit to continue growing as a group and try to arrive in the best possible way afterwards for the World Championship in January.
