The 2026 European Handball Championship was unsuccessful for the Ukrainian national team: following the results of their first match against Norway, the ‘blue and yellows’ set two anti-records at once. Our handball players suffered a crushing defeat against the Norwegian national team, with a score of 22:39, according to Sport Bet.
The Ukrainian team suffered an unprecedented fiasco in the game against Norway. Conceding 39 goals in one match, the Ukrainians set a new anti-record for the most goals conceded in the history of the championship and demonstrated the worst defence reliability indicator. Prior to this, Ukraine had performed poorly at the 2022 European Championship against Croatia. At that time, the ‘blue and yellows’ conceded 38 goals.
The failures of Ukrainian athletes at the European Championship did not end there: another negative record for our national team was a defeat by a margin of 17 goals. The previous biggest failure was in 2006, when our handball players lost to Germany by a margin of ‘minus 14’ (22:36). This anti-record remained the worst for the national team for twenty years, until the 2026 European Championship.
To advance to the main round of the championship, Ukraine must finish in the top two of their group. After an unsuccessful match against Norway, the Blue and Yellows are currently in last place in Group C.
Next, the Ukrainian team will face the reigning European champions, France. As for the Norwegians, they will compete against the Czech Republic.
As previously reported, the opening ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics will take place on 6 February.
