Denmark remain first in both the women’s and men’s four-year youth national team rankings published by the European Handball Federation on 9 October. The updated tables cover results from 2023 to 2026 and take in this summer’s younger age category championships, with Denmark on 107 points in the women’s ranking and 109 in the men’s.
The rankings reward nations that produce strong results across several youth tournaments rather than in a single year. Points from 2023 and 2024 count at 50 per cent, while points from 2025 and 2026 count in full, a weighting the EHF says is designed to give recent results a bigger impact. Each nation’s total is then divided by four, and ties are settled by the most recent year’s result.
Denmark’s women’s teams have collected medals regularly in that period. They won silver at both the W17 and W19 EHF EURO in 2023 and bronze at the W19 EHF EURO 2025. Their total of 107 is unchanged from last year’s ranking and leaves them well clear of Spain, who climbed three places to second on 94.75 points, just ahead of France on 94. Montenegro rose two places to fourth with 90.5, Germany slipped to fifth with 86.5 and Hungary fell four places to sixth on 86. Croatia climbed two places to seventh on 64 points. Serbia made the biggest jump, rising six places from 14th to eighth.
On the men’s side, Danish teams won silver at the M18 EHF EURO 2024, bronze at the M20 EHF EURO 2024 and bronze again at the M18 EHF EURO 2026. That record keeps Denmark first on 109 points, though the gap is narrower than in the women’s table, with Germany second on 105.5. Germany won the M18 title this summer. Spain, who retained the M20 crown in 2024, are third on 94.5, followed by Sweden on 87.25. Slovenia made the largest move, climbing six places from 13th to seventh.
The top ten in the men’s ranking is completed by Hungary, Portugal, Slovenia, Iceland, France and Norway, while Croatia, Serbia, Sweden and Switzerland round out the women’s top ten. The EHF has published separate documents with the full women’s and men’s tables. For Denmark, leading both lists points to a steady supply of talent coming through to the senior national teams.
