Macedonia's cadets ran over Israel 39:29 and finished ninth at the EHF EURO

In Belgrade, in the match for ninth place, the cadet national team beat Israel 39:29 - and did so after trailing 19:20 at half-time. The second half was a ten-goal swing. The heaviest load on the nets came from Gorazd Damčevski, Kristijan Vujičevski and Stefan Gjorgjievski. This is a fifth consecutive win for Goran Kuzmanoski's team, after losing to Slovenia, France and Sweden in the group stage. With it they secured direct qualification for the junior World Championship and stayed in the elite tier of the European. A team that starts with three defeats and ends with five wins is not a team with a quality problem, but a team somebody tuned too late.

Kuzmanoski after ninth place: „This generation needs to be in good hands”

The coach's message from Belgrade was not sugary. Kuzmanoski said Macedonia has a bright handball future, but also that this generation now needs to be in good hands. That is a sentence you write when you know how our good generations usually end up: falling apart between clubs with no money, foreign transfers at sixteen, and a federation that claps and forgets. Kuzmanoski is not asking for praise - he is asking someone to take responsibility for boys who have just earned a place among the best in Europe. The question is whether anyone with a budget is listening.

Macedonia, Serbia and Slovenia are bidding for EHF EURO 2034, with the final weekend going to the neighbours

The three federations will bid jointly to host the men's European Championship in 2034. Under the agreed model, each country would host two groups in the first round, with Serbia taking the final weekend and the medal matches. The president of the Serbian federation, Božidar Đurković, says they have had three meetings with the Macedonian and Slovenian representatives: „In principle we agreed on all the details," adding that the chances are serious. For Macedonia this would be a first men's senior championship - we already have youth and women's hosting behind us. There are eight years until 2034, which is exactly enough time for someone to promise arenas and then explain why they are not there.

Eurofarm Pelister in group G of the EHF European League, with Gummersbach and Logroño

The draw for the EHF European League placed Eurofarm Pelister in group G, alongside Germany's Gummersbach, Spain's Logroño La Rioja and Poland's Gdańsk. The group stage runs from 29 September to 2 December across six rounds, with two from each group advancing to the play-offs, where the third and fourth-placed teams from the Champions League groups await. The Bitola side has already started its friendlies with a win. The group is not a death sentence, but it is not a gift either: Gummersbach plays in one of the strongest leagues in Europe, and Pelister will have to collect points away from Bitola, which historically is the part that costs us.

Germany beat Slovenia 36:27 for gold at the cadet EHF EURO

In the same Belgrade hall where our players competed for ninth place, Germany crushed Slovenia 36:27 to take a fourth men's under-18 EHF EURO title, its first since 2021. It was 17:11 at half-time, and everything collapsed in one stretch between the 15th and 35th minutes - a 15:3 run and a 20:11 lead. Slovenia had entered the final unbeaten with seven wins, and on 3 August in the main round had already beaten Germany 30:28. Vincent Fatzijev scored 8 goals, Tilike and Eisend 5 each, and for the Slovenians Kovač, Podvršič and Ilc also 5 each. Goalkeeper Tobias Danger made 10 saves. Eighteen-year-old boys showed the difference between a team that plays well and a team that knows how to play a final.