France handball team qualifying match against Romania at Arena du Pays d’Aix, Digi Mart USA News (Arena du Pays d’Aix, Aix-en-Provence, France): The French men’s handball team begins its qualifying campaign for the men’s European Championship 2028 with a match against Romania this Thursday evening at the Arena du Pays d’Aix, in the Milles area south of Aix-en-Provence.
The match is the first France fixture in the qualifiers for the upcoming men’s European Championship, scheduled from January 13 to 30, 2028, in Madrid and Valencia (Spain), Lisbon (Portugal) and Zurich (Switzerland). France is scheduled to face Romania from 8 p.m.
The French handball players, nicknamed successively “Les Bronzés,” “Les Barjots,” “Les Costauds” and “Les Experts” until 2017, are the reigning European champions after winning the 2024 title. The team’s record is among the most impressive in French team sports, with three Olympic titles, six world championships and four European titles.
France is widely expected to beat Romania, which enjoyed its golden age in the 1960s and 1970s, winning four medals at the world championship. Romania’s last podium finish in a major international competition was its bronze medal at the 1990 world championship.
Tickets are available through the French Handball Federation’s ticketing platform. The Arena du Pays d’Aix is located at 1955 rue Claude Nicolas Ledoux, 13290 Aix-en-Provence.
