Yevheniy Zhuk: "We knew we were capable of reaching the semifinals, but such is life."

The Ukrainian national handball player Yevheniy Zhuk commented on the match against France in the quarter-finals of Euro-2026.

Yevheniy Zhuk: "We knew we were capable of reaching the semifinals, but such is life."

Foto uefa.com

Let us remind you that in Zhytomyr, the blue and yellow team surrendered to France (2:4, in extra time) and ended their participation in Euro-2026. The post-match comment by Ukrainian national team player Yevhen Zhuk is published on the official UEFA website.

"The European Championship is an opportunity, a chance that we had. Not every team has such a chance. We could have reached the semi-finals, but unfortunately, we lost. We did everything we could, but our mistakes led to this result. We knew we were capable of reaching the semi-finals, but that's life. I would like to ask for forgiveness from the fans and our families, as well as thank all supporters who supported us throughout," said Yevhen Zhuk.

Quarter-finals

1. 31.01.2026. France – Ukraine – 4:2, in extra time

2. 31.01.2026. Armenia – Croatia – 0:3

3. 01.02.2026. Portugal – Belgium. 17:00 (Ljubljana)

4. 01.02.2026. Spain – Italy. 20:30 (Ljubljana)

Semi-finals

04.02.2026. France – winner of match 3. 18:00/21:30 (Ljubljana)

04.02.2026. Croatia – winner of match 4. 18:00/21:30 (Ljubljana)

Match for third place

07.02.2026. 17:00 (Ljubljana)

Final

07.02.2026. 20:30 (Ljubljana)

Match start times – Kyiv time.