Euro B kicks off on Sunday 18 October when title holders Serbia play host to Ukraine in a men’s senior international at FK Zenum Stadium, Belgrade (kick off 2pm, local time). All the games in the competition will be played over a week at the central venue, with Netherlands the third nation in the group.

Serbia and Ukraine last met at senior level in 2024 as part of the IRL Rugby League World Cup European Qualifiers, with Serbia having the upper hand, gaining a 50-10 victory.

Serbia head coach, Darren Fisher, commented: “This year's Euro B competition gives us a great opportunity to call up some of our youth players and help them in their development journey. We have rewarded some of our U19s, U21s and U23s with selection in the squad.

“We're excited to see how the mix across the squad comes together and, being title holders, we want to make sure we give our all on the field.”

Ukraine secured promotion to Euro B after beating Italy and Greece in 2025 Euro C.

“We’re really excited to be back together as a group and building on what we achieved last year,” said Ukraine head coach Dan Beardshaw. “We’ve made some fantastic progress as a nation, but we know there’s still plenty of work ahead of us. Serbia are a strong, well-established side, and we’re looking forward to the challenge.

“We’re also incredibly grateful for the continued support of the Ukrainian military particularly in allowing our players to take time away from their duties to represent their country. We never take that opportunity for granted, especially knowing the sacrifices being made back home. For us, representing Ukraine is about much more than rugby league, and we want to make our country proud.”

Spain’s Andrew Pilkington will take charge of the fixture having delivered a match officials course to members of the Ukrainian delegation the day before.