Vadim Brazhnik’s team lost minimally to the Netherlands in the opening match of the qualification for Euro 2026 (39:40)
Linear Ukrainian national handball team Alexander Onufrienko commented on the opening match in the qualifying round Euro 2026 against Netherlands (39:40), and also shared his thoughts regarding the upcoming fight with Faroe Islands.
“Very difficult match. The Netherlands are a very good team, most of the players play in top championships such as the Bundesliga or the French Starliga. But everyone turned out to be very motivated, and we fought for all 60 minutes. The match was very close, and there is a feeling that we should have taken at least one point.”
“There were more mistakes somewhere in defense, so this score is high. But we gave our all in defense and attack, very good execution of chances: if you look, more than 80% is very good. I think we’ll improve, this is only the first game.”
“With the squad we have assembled now, we can fight with any team: Spain or the Netherlands. If we go out with such motivation, we can play with them. All our guys play more or less in European championships.”
“Team Faroe Islands? We played a lot against them – we know their weaknesses, which they stand out for: they really love the seven-on-six game, they also have two super talents (Elias Skipagotu and Oli Mittun) – the whole game runs from them. We must prepare and deal with their attack. A very coachable team, they know what they are doing, they have been playing together for several years now. We can play with them and win, there’s nothing surprising about them.”
Ukraine will play its next qualifying match on November 10 against the Faroe Islands. The match will be nominally “home” for the blue-yellows and will take place in the capital of Lithuania – Vilnius. The Faroe Islands themselves began the selection with a confident home victory over Kosovo (32:21).
Let us remind you that each team in the group will play six matches (round robin – home and away), and the qualification for Euro 2026 will end in May next year.
The teams that take first and second places in the groups will receive tickets to the European Championship. The top four third-place teams also qualify.
The 2026 European Championship will be held in Denmark, Sweden and Norway. The host teams of the tournament, as well as the current champion France, automatically qualified for the final round.
Source: Sportarena
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