Men’s U18 EHF EURO 2026: Slovenia against Germany for the gold medal
Slovenia and Germany will meet in the final of the M18 EHF EURO in Belgrade on Sunday at 19:30 at the Aleksandar Nikolić Hall.
Friday’s semi-finals offered little suspense. Germany, who had already looked out of contention and only reached the quarter-finals as the best third-placed team thanks to Slovenia’s victory over Serbia, completed a remarkable turnaround. After eliminating Iceland in the quarter-finals, Germany defeated Spain 32:28 in the semi-final just two days later.
In the other semi-final, a clash between the only two teams with perfect records, Slovenia demolished Denmark 26:17.
GERMANY – SPAIN 32:28
GERMANY: Pöthke 8, Beuthner 4, Gadza 4, Faciejew 3, Strobel 3, Elze 3, Meißner 2, Löhr 2, Detlefsen 1, Kretzschmar 1, Eisend 1.
SPAIN: Sola Basterra 7, Perez Heselius 5, Carballar Foixench 4, Thompson Bouzad 3, Palomo Pineda 3, Glaria Sanz 2, Cardeñosa López 1, Istúriz Fernández 1, Purull Ortiz 1.
Saves: Knackstedt 11, Dengler 1 – Cardeñosa López 13.
DENMARK – SLOVENIA 17:26
DENMARK: Laursen 4, Fuglsbjerg 3, Knudsen 3, Andreasen 2, Bak 1, Burgess 1, Sørensen 1, Hedberg 1, Christensen 1.
SLOVENIA: Kresal 5, Erčulj 4, Ajšič 4, Ilc 4, Rapotec 2, Podvršič 2, Sovič 2, Murko 1, Kovač 1, Aljančič 1.
Saves: Møller 12, Hafstrøm-Krusentjerna 1 – Miklavčič 14, Kamenica 2.
North Macedonia defeated Portugal 25:24 to earn a place in the 9th-place match against Israel.
Hosts Serbia beat Poland 35:28, secured qualification for the World Championship and will face Sweden in the match for 13th place.
Here is the complete schedule of placement matches at the M18 EHF EURO 2026 in Belgrade on Sunday, August 9.
23RD-PLACE MATCH
09:30 Türkiye – Montenegro — Šumice
21ST-PLACE MATCH
12:00 Italy – Czechia — Šumice
19TH-PLACE MATCH
09:30 Slovakia – Finland — Pionir
17TH-PLACE MATCH
09:30 Switzerland – Norway — Banjica
15TH-PLACE MATCH
12:00 Faroe Islands – Poland — Banjica
13TH-PLACE MATCH
12:00 Sweden – Serbia — Pionir
11TH-PLACE MATCH
14:30 Portugal – Austria — Šumice
9TH-PLACE MATCH
14:30 North Macedonia – Israel — Banjica
7TH-PLACE MATCH
14:30 Iceland – Hungary — Pionir
5TH-PLACE MATCH
17:00 France – Croatia — Banjica
BRONZE-MEDAL MATCH – 3RD PLACE
17:00 Spain – Denmark — Pionir
FINAL – 1ST PLACE
19:30 Germany – Slovenia — Pionir
photo: jelena petojevic
