Denmark, then Denmark 2 and then nothing for a long time? The favorites at the European Handball Championship are led even more than usual by the handball great power.
Even if ARD expert Johannes “Jogi” Bitter had to laugh in the Sportschau European Championship podcast “Handball auf die 1” when he brought “Denmark 2” into play as favorites for the European Championship title – there was a pinch of truth in this assessment. Because even the “second guard” of the Danes, who gets less playing time than the superstars around the Bundesliga players Mathias Gidsel, Simon Pytlick and Co., would probably be able to beat the regular line-up of most nations in this tournament.
Denmark with home advantage against the little “EM curse”
The Danes are the reigning world champions (four times in a row) and Olympic champions anyway. And also one of the hosts at this tournament. As if it wasn’t already difficult enough to beat this top team, coached by Nikolaj Jacobsen since 2017, they will now have home advantage on their side throughout the tournament. The biggest glimmer of hope for the competition: The Danish golden generation has had a harder time at European Championships in recent years – in 2024 they lost in the final against France after extra time, in 2022 the Danes “only” won bronze.
France – without Remili with a lot of pressure on Dika Mem
Defending champions France were the last team to beat the Danes in a grand final. And apart from long-time leader Nikola Karabatic and playmaker Kentin Mahe, all of the key performers are still at the start. However, a short-term absence hurts: Nedim Remili, one of the most important players in the backcourt and also one of the most experienced with 150 international matches, is out due to an injury. This puts even more pressure on the future Berliner and the other extremely dangerous left-hander in the backcourt, Dika Mem, who, together with Ludovic Fabregas, is supposed to be one of the team’s leaders. The goalkeeper position will probably be handled by Charles Bolzinger, who leads a rather inexperienced goalkeeper ensemble. “I think we read somewhere that the only option for France is the medal”national team manager Benjamin Chatton also sums up the demands of “Les Bleus”.
Sweden – with Malmö behind them, make them forget the World Cup
In 2022, the Swedes won their last major title by the narrowest of margins in the European Championship final against Spain, and in 2024 they finished third against Germany in Cologne. Of course, as co-hosts, the Swedes are again one of the candidates for a semi-final participation. But for that to happen, Michael Apelgren’s team first has to shake off the previous World Cup. In 2025, things were catastrophic in the main round: There were defeats against Brazil and Norway, plus draws against Portugal and Spain – 14th place. With their own fans, but also correspondingly high expectations behind them, the aim is to reach the round of the last four this time. For sports show expert Dominik Klein, the Swedes are in the field of favorites with the hall in Malmö – “a tough number” – and extremely relevant. Also because they have the supposedly “easier” tournament tree and can avoid Denmark, France, Portugal, Spain and Germany until the knockout round.
Germany, Portugal, Spain, Norway – The co-favorites from the “Hammer group”
In addition to France and Denmark, Germany, Portugal and Spain are also represented in the “first” tournament tree with preliminary round groups A to C, from which main round group I will be formed. All three of the last-mentioned opponents are part of the medal contenders, but due to the “loose luck” this will be extremely difficult for the Olympic runner-up Germany, the fourth-placed World Cup Portugal, the third host Norway and the Olympic bronze medalist Spain.
Chatton: Croatia and Iceland are also hot contenders
Since two teams from each of the two tournament trees reach the semi-finals, the question arises as to who, alongside Sweden, is the second biggest contender in the back tournament tree. For Chatton, the Icelanders and the Croatians are the two hottest candidates.