European Handball Championship

The European Handball Championship under the auspices of UEFA first took place in 1996 and began to be held every two years from 1999. The only exception was the period when Hungary hosted it in 2010 after Portugal won in 2007. Since 2018, Euro has switched to a format of one tournament every four years.

The current champion of Europe is the team of Portugal. Spain holds the record for the most titles, having been the strongest on the continent seven times.

Ukraine National Team at European Championships

The Ukrainian national team immediately reached the final part of the European championship in 1996. The tournament had an experimental character, and only six teams participated in the decisive stage. Under the leadership of Gennadiy Lysenko, the blue-yellow team finished fifth, defeating the Netherlands in a penalty shootout 4:3 OT.

The Ukrainian national team missed the next European championship after losing a key match to Portugal in the qualifying round. Instead, in 2001 and 2003, the team achieved its greatest successes, finishing second both times.

In 2001, the blue-yellow team finished second in the group stage and advanced to the semifinals where they lost to Italy 3:3 (5:4 penalties). In the final, our national team only conceded in extra time to Spain with a score of 1:2.

In 2003, the Ukrainian national team won its group, defeated the Czech Republic in the semifinals (5:1), and met Italy in the final match for gold. The game was decided by one goal "Squadra Azzurra," and the Ukrainians received their second silver at Euro in history.

In the next championship, the blue-yellow team reached the semifinals where they lost to Spain (0:5) and then lost to Italy for third place (1:3).

In 2007, the Ukrainians failed to qualify from the group stage. In the following five championships, they consistently stopped in the quarterfinals. At this stage, our team was defeated by Azerbaijan, Croatia, Portugal, Serbia, and Spain.

In 2022, the blue-yellow team finished second in the group stage and advanced to the play-offs. In the quarterfinals, Oleksandr Kosenko's wards defeated Kazakhstan (5:3), lost to the aggressor country in the semifinals (2:3), and then lost to Spain for third place (1:4).

In total, the Ukrainian national team has played 42 matches in the final stages of European championships, won 14 games, played extra time six times, and lost 22 matches (goal difference - 111-109). In the overall ranking of European championships, the team holds fifth place. In the medal table, Ukrainians also hold fifth.

Ukraine National Team at European Handball Championships