Alexander Kosenko's wards completed their main round Euro-2026 qualification matches with a home game against Romania in Koszalin, Poland.

Recall that by winning the fifth match of the Euro-2026 qualification main round against Cyprus (11:1), Ukraine's national team secured their place at the final tournament, which will take place from January 20 to February 7 next year in Latvia’s Riga and Lithuania’s Kaunas.

Earlier, the blue-and-yellow team confidently won four matches — against Cyprus (7:0), Romania (2:0), and Germany (5:3, 9:0). The second defeat of Cyprus, following losses by Romania to Germany, secured our team's place at the European Championship.

Today in the final match of Group 1, which had no tournament significance for Alexander Kosenko’s wards, they hosted Romania in Koszalin, Poland. The match began with a moment of silence in memory of those who died during attacks by the country of terrorists.

The first half saw an even battle, with goalkeepers from both teams making saves. On the 15th minute, Manya put Romania ahead, but shortly after Farenyuk beautifully concluded our team’s combination, equalizing the score.

After halftime, a successful shot by Shved gave Ukraine the lead. Gradually, Romania accumulated five fouls, forcing them to play more cautiously. On the 31st minute, following a lightning-fast counterattack, Semenchuk scored the third goal for blue-and-yellow. In the end, our boys won with a score of 3:1, earning six points in six matches.

Euro-2026 Handball Qualification Main Round Group 1

December 12, 2024

Romania — Germany — 6:0

December 13, 2024

Cyprus — Ukraine — 0:7

December 17, 2024

Romania — Ukraine — 0:2

December 18, 2024

Germany — Cyprus — 2:1

January 31, 2025

Romania — Cyprus — 6:1

Germany — Ukraine — 3:5

February 4, 2025

Ukraine — Germany — 9:0

February 5, 2025

Cyprus — Romania — 3:4

April 11, 2025

Ukraine — Cyprus — 11:1

Germany — Romania — 2:1

April 15, 2025

Cyprus — Germany — 1:4

Ukraine — Romania — 3:1 (1:1)

Goals: Farenyuk (16), Shved (25), Semenchuk (31) — Manya (15).

Ukraine: Savenko — Farenyuk, Sagaydachnyy, Korsun (c), Semenchuk; Siritsky, Sukhov, Shved, Zhuk, Mykityuk, Chernyavskyi, Abakshin, Zvarych, Pereyeiev.

Romania: Tonita (c) — Duedeau, Araujo, Miklosh, Nastay; Voyn, Manya, Islai, Toader, Kusmedi, Kovach, Canio, Balint.

Warned: Balint (29).

April 15. Koszalin. Hala Widowiskowo-Sportowa.

Final Standings

Euro-2026 Handball Qualification Main Round

Group 1: Ukraine, Romania, Germany, Cyprus.

Group 2: Finland, Italy, Belarus, Malta.

Group 3: Poland, Slovakia, Moldova, Turkey.

Group 4: Slovenia, Hungary, Montenegro, Norway.

Group 5: Croatia, Azerbaijan, Sweden, Greece.

Group 6: Kazakhstan, Armenia, Denmark, Albania.

Group 7: Portugal, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Andorra.

Group 8: Spain, Bosnia and Herzegovina, England, Switzerland.

Group 9: Serbia, Czech Republic, Belgium, Austria.

Group 10: France, Georgia, Kosovo, Bulgaria.

The draw for the final tournament is scheduled for October 24. During the ceremony at «Žalgiris Arena» in Kaunas, four groups of four teams will be formed, and then the top two teams from each quartet will proceed to the quarter-finals.

The Euro-2026 tournament will feature 16 participants: Latvia and Lithuania as hosts, plus winners of ten group stages (Spain, Portugal, Slovenia, Poland, Croatia, Chech Republic, Armenia, Belarus), and four more teams from the play-off round. The main round ends on April 16. The draw for knockout matches is scheduled for May 21, with games taking place from September 15 to September 24.