The Lithuanians consider the match with Macedonia to be crucial in their efforts to participate in the 2026 European Handball Championship.

Lithuania plays in the first round away to Slovenia tonight, but it seems that their attention is focused more on the second round match in Vilnius, with Macedonia, which will be played on Sunday.

This can be concluded according to their statements on the website of the Lithuanian National Television on the eve of the start of the Qualifications, in which Slovenia is barely mentioned.

- The match at home with the Macedonians will probably be one of the decisive ones. After a victory over them, they would surely have even more reasons for further fighting for European qualification. Support from the fans at every match is additional motivation and a kind of doping for our handball players. That's why we invite all fans to come to the arena and cheer on the national team - says the head coach of the Lithuanian national team, Gintaras Savukas.

According to the head coach of Lithuania, in order for his team to qualify for the 2026 European Championship, they need to achieve three victories. One of those three is the match on Sunday in Macedonia, which is why he wants to win so much.

Lithuania has so far participated in two European championships, in 1998 and in 2022.

- It is obvious that every match is very important. We will fight for points in every game. Now we will play at home with the Macedonians and this is a big advantage for us. With the support of our spectators, with that enthusiasm and with the energy of the team, we can achieve great goals - assures the captain of the Lithuanian national team, Gerdas Babarskas (30), who is a left back.

Yesterday, Macedonia defeated Estonia in Skopje with 37-33 in the first round of Group 1 at the start of the Qualifications for the European Championship 2026.

Macedonia defeated Estonia at the start of the qualifiers for the European Championship 2026