Ukraine’s national team loses to Kosovo’s semi-amateur team in Euro 2026 qualifiers
14 March 08:54
On Wednesday, March 13, a match of the 3rd round of qualification for the 2026 European Handball Championship took place in Pristina, in which the national men’s national team of Ukraine lost to the team of Kosovo with a score of 31:30.
The match started evenly, and in the 20th minute the scoreboard showed a draw 10:10. However, after that, the hosts had a productive period and managed to finish the first half with a four-goal lead – 16:12.
In the second half, the Kosovars increased their advantage to six goals (21:15), but the Ukrainian team showed character and managed to equalize the score several times – 23:23, 27:27 and 28:28. Three and a half minutes before the final siren, Igor Turchenko restored the balance again – 30:30. However, the hosts managed to score another goal and take the lead 31:30, and the Ukrainian national team, unfortunately, failed to respond with an effective attack.
The best player in the Ukrainian team was left winger Dmytro Artemenko, who scored 10 goals in 12 attempts. It is worth noting that Artemenko is showing phenomenal performance in the qualifying tournament – he has already scored 31 goals in three matches, which averages more than 10 goals per game.
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Ihor Turchenko and Yevhen Akimenko also made a significant contribution to the Ukrainian national team, scoring 5 goals each. In the goal of our team , Bohdan Komok made 3 saves out of 20 shots, and Gennady Terekhov made 6 saves out of 20 shots.
It is worth noting that, unlike the Ukrainian team, the players of the Kosovo national team are amateurs or semi-amateurs who play handball in their spare time. For example, Kosovo’s left wing Lulzim Shabani works as a bartender and waiter.
After three rounds of the second qualifying round, the Ukrainian team ranks last in Group 6.
The first two teams from the group, as well as the best 4 out of 8 third teams in eight groups, are guaranteed to get to Euro 2026. Therefore, the national team of Ukraine has not yet lost its chances of qualifying for Euro 2026.
On March 16, the teams will play a second match in the 4th round. Formally, the home game of the national team of Ukraine will take place in Klaipeda, Lithuania. The match starts at 19:00, and the broadcast will be available on the Suspilne Sport channel.
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