Horiha Sang the Anthem and Scored Three Goals, Macedonia Crushed Luxembourg, and Now Comes Greece

Macedonia crushed Luxembourg 41-23, and Horiha debuted with the anthem and three goals

The men's handball national team started EHF EURO 2028 qualifying with a convincing 41-23 (20-10) win over Luxembourg at the Boris Trajkovski Sports Centre. The winner was clear within the first 20 minutes, when the gap reached double figures. Top scorer was Koteski with six goals, Petkovski and Serafimov added five each, and Kuzmanovski and Mitev four each. The night, though, belonged to debutant Dmytro Horiha, a former Ukrainian international who received a Macedonian passport. Before the match he sang the Macedonian anthem, keeping the promise he had made publicly, came on in the 18th minute to chants of his name and two minutes later scored the first of his three goals. Luxembourg is no real yardstick. But a hall chanting a debutant's name tells you how much handball still means to people.

Lazarov: a hellish match awaits us in Greece

After the match coach Kiril Lazarov didn't get carried away by the score. He admitted the team had only three training sessions, because he had to wait for the Vardar and Pelister players to rest after the derby, and had to fit a new player into the system. "The result doesn't matter, the approach does," Lazarov said, adding that the team had been saving some energy. Next is an away game in Greece on Sunday, a team that, as the coach reminded, got past the Netherlands in the race for the World Championship. Lazarov called it a "hellish match" and said the team would also prepare mentally. Luxembourg was an obligation. Greece will show what the three training sessions were worth.

Markoski says goodbye, and captain Kuzmanovski welcomes Horiha as a reinforcement

Before the match the Handball Federation of Macedonia said farewell to Nikola Markoski, who has ended his career. President Aleksandar Stefanov presented him with a framed jersey as thanks for his years in the national team. Markoski last played for Alkaloid, and before that wore the shirts of Vardar, Metalurg and Eurofarm Pelister. Captain Filip Kuzmanovski, who plays in the same position as Horiha, said he doesn't see him as competition but as added value: "Anything that's for the good of the national team is always welcome." It's no small gesture to publicly welcome the man who could take your minutes.

Qualifying opened with records: Croatia 46 goals, Iceland 48, and Ukraine sunk

In the first round of EHF EURO 2028 qualifying, home teams won seven of eight matches, the only exception being Czechia's narrow 27-26 win over Israel. Croatia, bronze medallists at the 2026 European Championship, crushed Lithuania 46-28 in Split, breaking their own record for most goals in a qualifier. Coach Dagur Sigurdsson warned against getting carried away, since the Lithuanians are going through a generational change. Records also fell for Iceland, 48-26 against Ukraine, and the Faroe Islands, 37-30 against Kosovo. Ukraine, whose shirt Horiha used to wear, conceded 48 goals. When the Faroe Islands are breaking records, Europe's handball map is clearly not standing still.

Portugal won the debutants' duel, Denmark scored the last two goals for a draw with Spain

The new EHF EURO Cup started with a confident Portugal win and drama in Denmark. After a weak start, Portugal beat Switzerland 33-28, already five goals up at half-time. The Swiss are coached by legend Andy Schmid, who said after the defeat that his team missed too much to beat one of the best national teams in the world. In the duel of former winners of the competition, Denmark scored the last two goals to reach 28-28 against Spain. The Spaniards left with a bitter taste, having had the win in their hands. When Denmark have to rescue themselves with the last two goals, Spain are clearly dangerous again.