After the last preliminary round matches at the European Handball Championship, the Swiss have a fixed program for the main round in Malmö. They kick off on Friday at 18:00 against Hungary.
22.01.2026, 08:38
22.01.2026, 11:05
SDA
On Sunday, coach Andy Schmid's team will face World Championship runners-up Croatia (20:30). This will be followed next week by games against Iceland on Tuesday (3.30 p.m.) and hosts Sweden on Wednesday (8.30 p.m.). The Swiss start the main round with zero points following their 35:38 defeat against Slovenia.
Their first opponents, Hungary, missed out on the semi-finals at last year's World Championship in extremis. In the quarter-final against Croatia, they led 30:26 in the 55th minute before losing the game 30:31. They finished the 2024 European Championship in 5th place. The team consists of an interesting mix of young and experienced players.
Of particular note is 23-year-old right wing Bence Imre, a teammate of Swiss center Lukas Laube at Germany's top team Kiel. Imre has scored 20 goals in the three games so far, making him Hungary's top scorer. The 23-year-old goalkeeper Kristof Palasics has also performed very well so far with a 35.2 percent save rate. He benefits from a stable defense - no team has conceded fewer goals (71) in the preliminary round.
Last match against Croatia on an equal footing
The Swiss last played Croatia twice last November, winning and losing once. The Croatians are coached by the innovative Icelander Dagur Sigurdsson, who led Germany to the 2016 European Championship title. The retired star player Domagoj Duvnjak is no longer available.
Iceland has a high-quality team and is described as the "secret favorite". The squad also includes Kadetten Schaffhausen right wing Odinn Rikhardsson, who is currently second in the NLA scoring charts. The Swiss have fond memories of Iceland, having won their last encounter at the 2021 World Cup 20:18.
Winless against Sweden since 1992
Switzerland's last win against Sweden dates back to October 25, 1992, with 17 defeats since then. The Scandinavians, record European champions with five titles, set an exclamation mark at the end of the preliminary round with a clear 33:25 victory over Croatia.
To reach the semi-finals, the Swiss will have to finish in the top two. That will be more than difficult, but they have proven that they can keep up with any opponent if they play at their best. Schmid says of the main round: "It's an incredible experience that we will have with four matches at an absolutely top level."
