Ukraine Men's Handball Team Loses to Iceland 26:48 at Euro 2028 Qualifier Start

The Ukraine men's handball team had a poor start to their EHF Euro 2028 qualification campaign. In the first qualifying match, the «blue-and-yellows» suffered a crushing away defeat against Iceland with a score of 26:48. The encounter took place as part of the autumn leg of the qualifying tournament, where the Ukrainian team is fighting for a spot in the final tournament. More details about the qualifying start and the team roster can be found on Sport RBC.UA.

Crushing Defeat By Halftime

The Ukrainians failed to put up a fight against their opponent from the very beginning of the match. By halftime, the team was already trailing by a large margin: during the first thirty minutes, the Ukrainians scored only nine goals, while the Icelanders netted 23. This crucial deficit in the first half effectively determined the final outcome of the match and deprived the visitors of any realistic chances of contesting the result.

Second Half and Top Scorer

After the break, the hosts continued to build on their lead, bringing the score to a landslide 48:26 in favor of Iceland. The highest-scoring player for the Ukrainian national team was Dmytro Artemenko, who netted eight goals. It was his efforts that allowed the team to save some face in the match, despite the opponent's overall dominance.

What's Next: Match Against Serbia

The Ukrainian team will play their next qualifying fixture on Sunday, November 8. The opponent for the «blue-and-yellows» will be the Serbian national team, with kickoff scheduled for 16:00. This match will be an opportunity for the Ukrainian team to amend the first impression of the qualifying campaign and earn points in the race for a spot in the tournament finals.

Context of the Euro 2028 Qualifier

As a reminder, in the qualifications for the 2028 European Championship, the Ukrainians are competing for a berth in the final tournament, which will be hosted by Spain, Portugal, and Switzerland. Thus, every match of the autumn qualification stage is crucial for the team's further fate in the qualifiers, and the high-scoring start against Iceland only emphasizes the difficulty of the tasks facing the national team in this cycle.