After their triumph at the Yellow Cup in Winterthur, the Swiss national team has traveled to the European Handball Championships with good feelings. The most important facts about the tournament from January 15 to February 1.
15.01.2026, 05:00
15.01.2026, 06:41
SDA
Swiss opponents
Switzerland has been drawn against the Faroe Islands (January 16), Slovenia (January 18) and Montenegro (January 20). In Group D in Oslo, the Slovenians have the highest ranking. The Eastern Europeans came 4th at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris and finished just ahead of Switzerland in 10th place at the 2025 World Championships. They won silver at the 2004 European Championships and bronze at the 2017 World Championships. However, the Slovenians have had some bad luck with injuries. Aleks Vlah, the team's top star, was ruled out of the test match against Kuwait. Switzerland's record against the Slovenians is clearly negative with 2:13 wins and one draw. However, the second success was not so long ago: In May 2024, the SHV team won 27:26 in the World Cup qualifiers in Slovenia.
The Swiss have won all six previous encounters against the Faroe Islands. However, the last meeting was 16 years ago. Since then, the Faroese have taken a big step forward. They are taking part in a major event for the second time since Euro 2024. Two years ago, they wrestled a 26:26 draw from Norway in the preliminary round. Just like back then in Berlin, they will be cheered on by thousands of fans in Oslo. The most important player in the team is director Elias Ellefsen a Skipagotu, who, like Swiss center Lukas Laube, plays for the German top team Kiel. The 23-year-old has recently had shoulder problems, but should be fit for the European Championship. One of the two goalkeepers is Aleksandar Lacok, who earns his money at St. Otmar St. Gallen.
The Swiss have only played against Montenegro once before, in November 2021, when they lost 31:35. The following year, the Balkan state finished 11th at the European Championship - their best ranking to date. The Montenegrins are coached by French legend Didier Dinart.
Schmid on the opponents
National coach Andy Schmid says of the opponents: "On paper, Slovenia are certainly the favorites in this group. It's a team that has repeatedly achieved top results at the finals in recent years. Montenegro are the surprise bag of the group. There are days when they can cause problems for any opponent and others when they cause big problems for themselves. You can't really judge them. The game against the Faroe Islands is certainly the key game for us and should be the can opener for the whole tournament. I never want to understate things or talk the opponents up, but always try to convey the reality. The Faroe Islands are probably the nation that has made the most progress in the last three or four years."
The format
There are six preliminary groups. The first two teams in each group advance to the main round; the points from the direct matches are carried forward. The first two teams in the two main round groups reach the semi-finals.
Swiss participation in the European Championship
This is the sixth time the Swiss have taken part in a European Championship final round after 2002, 2004, 2006, 2020 and 2024 - they were seeded as hosts in 2006. The best result to date was 12th place in 2004, but only 16 countries took part at that time, compared to 24 teams in 2020. After the mode change, both 2020 (16th) and 2024 (21st) ended in the preliminary round. That is now set to change.
The favorites of the tournament
The top favorite is Denmark, all the more so as the Scandinavians enjoy home advantage. They are playing the entire tournament in Herning. Coach Nikolaj Jacobsen's team have recently won four world championships in a row and also won Olympic gold in 2024. However, the last time they won a European Championship title was 14 years ago. This is likely to spur on the star ensemble around world handball player Mathias Gidsel. France are the defending champions. Germany can also expect to do well. The record European champions are Sweden, who have won gold five times - most recently in 2022.
Venues
The European Championships will be held in three countries for the second time since 2020. In addition to Denmark and Norway, matches will also be played in Sweden, in Malmö and Kristianstad. If the Swiss make it through the preliminary round, they will play the main round in Malmö.
