Big clashes ahead in last round of the group phase

Big clashes ahead in last round of the group phase

EHF / Björn Pazen & Kevin Domas
09 March 2026, 11:00

The Machineseeker EHF Champions League 2025/26 reaches round 14 this week, as teams in both groups look forward to the final battles for play-off positions.

In group A, the focus is on the places from three to five, with Industria Kielce, HBC Nantes and One Veszprém HC all separated by only one point at the moment. The Match of the Week travels to Veszprém, where the Hungarian side prepares to host Aalborg Håndbold on Thursday.

Over in group B, Barça only need one point to secure the top spot, with their direct progression to the quarter-finals already secured — alongside SC Magdeburg. Paris Saint-Germain, GOG and OTP Bank - PICK Szeged each continue the hunt for points in order to settle the middle-group rankings, from fourth to sixth place. GOG host HC Zagreb, who are already eliminated from the knockout stage, Szeged play away at Orlen Wisla Plock, while Paris host SC Magdeburg.

GROUP A

Kolstad Håndball (NOR) vs Industria Kielce (POL)

Thursday 12 March, 18:45 CET, live on EHFTV
H2H: 0-0-5
Last match: Industria Kielce vs Kolstad Håndball, 11 September 2025 (38:27 (16:12))

  • Kolstad Håndball have lost all three group phase games in 2026 and are at the bottom of the table with four points, after their previous defeat against Dinamo
  • on the other hand, Industria Kielce are on an impressive run with five consecutive victories; if the Dujshebaev-led team wins in Norway, they will secure third position
  • after the clear 39:31 win against Sporting, Kielce are on 15 points, one ahead of Nantes and Veszprém
  • top scorers of both sides are Szymon Sicko with 59 goals for Kielce and Simon Jeppsson with 68 strikes for Kolstad
  • both teams had high-scoring wins last weekend in their domestic leagues: Kolstad won 40:16 against Sandnes, while Kielce took a 37:30 victory over Ostrow

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20260219 Industria Kielce One Veszprem (76)

MOTW: One Veszprém HC (HUN) vs Aalborg Håndbold (DEN)

Thursday 12 March, 18:45 CET, live on EHFTV
H2H: 5-0-4
Last match: Aalborg Håndbold vs One Veszprém HC, 10 September 2025 (32:28 (17:15))

  • Veszprém let a victory slip away after leading 28:22 at Nantes, then losing 31:33 in round 13
  • with 14 points on their account, the Hungarian champions can finish third if they beat Aalborg and Kielce and Nantes do not win
  • the Danish champions lost their recent match 31:35 against Füchse Berlin and will finish second regardless of the result in Veszprém
  • only one goal separates the top scorers of both sides: Veszprém’s Nedim Remili is on 69 goals, while Aalborg’s Thomas Arnoldsen has netted 68 times
  • in the Danish league, Aalborg won 32:29 against Ribe-Esbjerg, while Veszprém won 46:27 against Gyongyosi

STAT OF THE MATCH: The Match of the Week in round 14 marks a clash between the group's best attack — One Veszprém HC with 438 goals scored — and the best defence — Aalborg Håndbold with 374 goals conceded. Defence was a big part of Aalborg's success in their previous encounter as well, as goalkeeper Fabian Norsten made 18 saves to clinch the Player of the Match award, a much better performance than Veszprém's goalkeepeing duo, who only stopped 10 shots combined.

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Sporting Clube de Portugal (POR) vs Dinamo Bucuresti (ROU)

Thursday 12 March, 20:45 CET, live on EHFTV
H2H: 7-0-6
Last match: Dinamo Bucuresti vs Sporting Clube de Portugal, 10 September 2025 (30:33 (15:15))

  • after their 33:39 defeat against Kielce in round 13, Sporting will finish sixth in the group, regardless of Veszprém and Nantes’ results, as they lost the direct encounters against both sides
  • this means that the Portuguese champions will duel with Wisla Plock in the play-offs, who are third-ranked in group B
  • Dinamo Bucuresti beat Kolstad in their previous match and are currently seventh-ranked, equal with Kolstad on points
  • Sporting’s superstars Francisco Costa (86 goals) and his brother Martim (76) are among the top eight scorers of the competition, while Branko Vujovic (46 goals) is Dinamo’s top scorer
  • both sides won their domestic league matches last weekend: Sporting beat Gaia 41:29, while Bucuresti won 40:27 against Potaissa Turda

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20261305 DINAMO Kolstad B2 16
We are Dinamo and our mentality is to approach every game with the ambition to win, and this one will be no exception. Even though we know that qualifying for the next stage is no longer possible for us, we will go into the match with the clear objective of winning and continuing to consolidate our way of playing as a team.
Miguel Martins
Centre back, Dinamo Bucuresti

Füchse Berlin (GER) vs HBC Nantes (FRA)

Thursday 12 March, 20:45 CET, live on EHFTV
H2H: 4-1-3
Last match: HBC Nantes vs Füchse Berlin, 11 September 2025 (34:40 (17:16))

  • Füchse Berlin are the confirmed group winners after their 35:31 victory at Aalborg last week
  • Nantes turned the match around against Veszprém and won 33:31, as the French runners-up are currently fourth-ranked with 14 points and can finish third if they get a victory and Kielce do not win
  • the reverse fixture was decided by Mathias Gidsel’s 10 goals, who is currently leading the competition’s standings with 109 goals; the best Nantes scorer is Swiss player Noam Leopold with 66 goals
  • neither side had a domestic league match last week

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0304202626 Aalborg Fuchse Berlin019

GROUP B

Orlen Wisla Plock (POL) vs OTP Bank - PICK Szeged (HUN)

Wednesday 11 March, 18:45 CET, live on EHFTV
H2H: 2-0-5
Last match: OTP Bank - PICK Szeged vs Orlen Wisla Plock, 11 September 2025 (33:34 (16:16))

  • Plock have already secured third place in the group, as they are on 17 points, while Szeged are sixth at the moment with 10 points
  • the Polish side won their eighth match of the season in round 13 in Zagreb (34:26); on the other hand, Szeged lost at home against GOG (34:37), despite Janus Smárason netting seven times
  • Plock won the first game between the two teams this season, in round 1, when Melvyn Richardson netted 12 times, his best performance of the season
  • Richardson is currently the fourth-best scorer of the competition with 86 goals, while Mario Šoštarić has netted 63 times for Szeged
  • last weekend, Plock beat Pulawy in the Polish league (41:23) and Szeged had the weekend off in the Hungarian league

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SE20251127 Szeged Zagreb 25

GOG (DEN) vs HC Zagreb (CRO)

Wednesday 11 March, 18:45 CET, live on EHFTV
H2H: 3-1-1
Last match: HC Zagreb vs GOG, 16 October 2025 (31:36 (11:19))

  • after 13 rounds, GOG are fifth in the group with 11 points, while Zagreb are out of the play-offs race, as they are last in the group with two points
  • GOG have only taken one point on home court this season, in round 12 against Pelister (28:28), but have won five away games
  • last week, the Danish side took the points in Szeged (37:34), as Frederik Bjerre scored 12
  • Zagreb suffered their 12th defeat of the season in round 13, at home against Plock (26:34), despite Giorgi Tskhovrebadze netting six times
  • GOG’s Frederik Bjerre is the third-best scorer of the competition with 93 goals so far; Filip Glavaš has scored 67 times for Zagreb this season
  • while Zagreb remain on top of the Croatian league after their 31:25 win against Sesvete, GOG are third in the Danish league after their 37:25 victory in Ringsted

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We played a strong match in Zagreb last time. We know they bring a lot of physicality, and as always we need to make the game about our speed. We come into the match with confidence after taking points in our recent Champions League games, and we want to give our loyal home crowd a win.
Kasper Christensen
Head coach, GOG

Paris Saint-Germain (FRA) vs SC Magdeburg (GER)

Wednesday 11 March, 20:45 CET, live on EHFTV
H2H: 1-0-4
Last match: SC Magdeburg vs Paris Saint-Germain, 10 September 2025 (37:31 (21:17))

  • Paris are currently fourth in the group, with 11 points, while Magdeburg are second and already qualified for the quarter-finals, with 23 points
  • Paris drew in Pelister last week (34:34), despite being up by two with less than one minute left to play, and with Yahia Omar netting 10 times
  • last week, Magdeburg suffered their first defeat this season in the top flight, 29:36 against Barça, with Felix Claar scoring seven
  • Paris managed to beat Magdeburg in European competitions only one time, in the 2022/23 group phase, when they took a 29:22 victory in Magdeburg
  • Paris’ Elohim Prandi is the second-best scorer of the competition with 100 goals, while Ómar Ingi Magnusson has scored 73 for Magdeburg
  • last weekend, Paris won the top clash in the French league in Montpellier (32:30) and Magdeburg defeated Hannover-Burgdorf (35:30) in their domestic championship

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18022026 Scm Gog 064
For us, it's still about winning. No matter what Barça does, we want to do our job and keep playing our game. That's incredibly difficult against a team like PSG, especially in their own arena, but that doesn't change our goals.
Bennet Wiegert
Head coach, SC Magdeburg

Barça (ESP) vs HC Eurofarm Pelister (MKD)

Wednesday 11 March, 20:45 CET, live on EHFTV
H2H: 1-0-0
Last match: HC Eurofarm Pelister vs Barça, 15 October 2025 (30:34 (13:17))

  • Barça are already through to the quarter-finals and currently first in the group with 24 points, while Pelister are already eliminated and certain to finish seventh, as they currently stand on six points
  • this season is the fifth time in a row that Barça qualify directly for the quarter-finals, while Pelister are on their third consecutive season in the top flight without making it out of the group phase
  • last week, Barça won the high-profile clash in Magdeburg (36:29), as Aleix Gómez scored seven times
  • Pelister drew with Paris in round 13 (34:34), coming back from a two-goal deficit in the last minute, and with Filip Kuzmanovski scoring 10 goals
  • Aleix Gómez has already scored 84 for Barça this season, while Dejan Manaskov is on 65 for Eurofarm
  • last weekend, Barça won against Granollers (42:31), while Pelister did not have a domestic match on their schedule

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Every player is honored to play against Barça, it's the dream of every boy who starts playing handball. Additional motivation is not needed. We work every day to improve. The last two matches in the Champions League have brought many good things. The team is growing, we are working well and there is nothing to fear.
Nikola Grahovac
Line player, HC Eurofarm Pelister

Photos © Tomasz Fąfara (main & in-text), Henrik Hansen, Eliza Sólya (in-text)

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