Luxembourg Lose Final Home Match in Men’s Handball Euro 2026 Qualifiers

On Wednesday 7 May 2025, Luxembourg's men's national handball team played their final home match of the EHF EURO 2026 Qualifiers Phase 2, facing the Czech Republic at home at the Coque in Luxembourg-Kirchberg.

The two teams entered the match with differing records after four games in Group 5. Luxembourg had recorded one win, while the Czech Republic had secured two victories and needed another to qualify for the final stage of the Men’s EHF Euro 2026 Championship.

The Red Lions started the game with discipline, responding to the visitors’ accurate shots with goals of their own. However, midway through the first half, the Czech Republic gained momentum during a stretch in which Luxembourg failed to score for eight minutes. The score moved to 14-5 and the visitors extended their lead further before the break. The teams went into halftime with the Czech Republic leading 19-8. Dominik Skopar was the top scorer for the visitors in the first half, netting five goals.

“I think the Czech team were the favourites, and we knew we had to play with a lot of discipline. The first fifiteen minutes were okay — we showed good discipline in both attack and defence. But I think we weren’t tough enough in defence, unlike them — they were aggressive and made it clear. The last fifiteen minutes of the first half were very difficult for us. We made many mistakes, and they punished us with counterattacks. After that, we were already overwhelmed by the end of the first half," Luxembourg player Raphael Guden told Chronicle.lu.

Raphael Guden was Luxembourg's top scorer, contributing five goals in the second half and seven in total. However, the visitors maintained their momentum and added sixteen more goals before the final whistle. The match ended in a 35-22 victory for the Czech Republic.

This third victory in the qualifiers allowed Daniel Kubes' team to secure qualification for EURO, as both Luxembourg and Belgium had only one win each ahead of the final matchday.

"I think we performed well. We are happy with the win and with the result as well. We pushed on the tempo in the game. We wanted to play fast and that’s what we managed – 35 goals. It’s a nice improvement for us and we are happy that we managed to qualify for the European Championship," summarised Czech Republic coach Daniel Kubes.

Luxembourg will play their final match of the EHF EURO 2026 Qualifiers Phase 2 away against Group 5 leaders Croatia. The match is scheduled for Sunday 11 May 2025 at 18:00 in the city of Rijeka. On the same day, the Czech Republic will host Belgium.