Action-packed Sunday to conclude first EHF EURO 2026 Qualifiers
The 24 teams contesting the Women’s EHF EURO 2026 Qualifiers have played their first matches, with round 1 opening the phase on Wednesday and Thursday with a series of victories for home teams and only one away win. Now, round 2 awaits, with 10 games to conclude the round on Sunday.
It will be an even tougher match than the first qualifier. We are facing a team that is extremely strong in fast breaks. So in this match as well, it is important to try to minimize technical errors and maintain good defensive coverage.
After a strong start to the qualifiers with our first match against Kosovo, our goal is to maintain the same level of commitment and discipline for this game against Finland. It’s essential that we stay fully focused on our game plan and continue to play the best handball possible.
In the match against Kosovo we will try to fix mistakes we made against Finland. Firstly, Kosovo is an away game so it's a different situation and also, in my opinion, they are better team than Finland. But we will definitely try to show a better game so we can finish this week with two more points.
Switzerland certainly shouldn't be underestimated because they're a great team that's been improving in recent years. At home, we have to give 110 per cent to get the best possible result. Chieti is our home; the fans know us and support us in every situation, so I hope that with the support of the fans.
We are realistic and know that they (Germany) are the better team, but that doesn't mean we can't fight for every ball and give it our all. We will definitely do that. We will celebrate every goal, just like every successful defensive action. We want to stand together as a team and put in a good performance.
We have been preparing for this clash both during our last training camp and throughout this week, paying attention to every detail of our game. I believe we are capable of winning and securing two crucial points on our road to the EHF EURO 2026. This match could also give us new leaders on the court — players who will know how to guide our team in important matches and challenging environments.
I have played against many countries during my career but this will be the first time against Lithuania, which I look forward to. We didn’t perform as we wanted against Ukraine in the first game, so we really want to play better now. We need to focus on the things we have talked about and practiced and if we can do that I am confident we will go home with two points.
Spain is a very strong team and we knew that it would be a difficult and demanding game. Nevertheless, we saw signs that we can hold on to and build on. Now we turn our attentions to the match against Austria in Kozani, where we want to show our true face and claim the best we can by bringing the character and energy of this team to the field!
