The EHF European League Men has reached its business end, with the four teams which will compete in the EHF Finals in Hamburg being decided on the course of the next week, when the two legs of the quarter-finals are taking place.

Three German sides, two teams from France and one from Portugal, Spain and Denmark each are competing for the coveted EHF Finals spots, with some true powerhouses colliding in the quarter-finals.

The joint record holders of the title of the second-tier European club competition, THW Kiel, which have won the title four times, most recently in the 2018/19 season, when the competition was still branded as the Men’s EHF Cup, will be favoured against French side Limoges Handball.

With a star-studded line-up, which boasts the 2023 IHF Young Male Player of the Year, Elias Ellefsen á Skipagøtu, goalkeeper Andreas Wolff or experienced stalwarts Domagoj Duvnjak and Patrik Wiencek, Kiel have not put a step wrong in the competition so far, winning nine matches and drawing another one, on their way to secure a place in the quarter-finals.

Limoges, which had a fantastic player in Ukrainian back Ihor Turchenko, the second best scorer of the competition, with 72 goals, have made history in their maiden appearance in an European competition, with a fantastic comeback in the play-offs against HC Kriens-Luzern, winning the second leg, 36:28, after losing the first one, 29:36.

The second German side still alive in the competition is SG Flensburg-Handewitt, which are also unbeaten, with eight wins and two draws so far in the EHF European League Men.

Flensburg, which have won the trophy twice in their history, and are the reigning champions, will take on Danish side GOG, in a fantastic doubleheader, which is guaranteed to bring some drama and excitement to the table.

GOG also had a fantastic comeback in the play-offs, erasing a two-goal deficit against SL Benfica in the first leg, 31:33, to make it to the quarter-finals courtesy of a 34:31 home win. So far, GOG have lost three matches this season, but have two players between the top 10 scorers in the season, Norwegian back Tobias Grondahl, with 64 goals, and Danish back Frederik Tilsted, with 55 goals.

Another German side which is aiming for glory is MT Melsungen, as Roberto Garcia Parrondo’s side can secure their maiden semi-finals berth in an European competition, after securing quarter-finals berths in the EHF Cup in 2015 and 2017.

Melsungen also eliminated Gummersbach after a comeback in the play-offs, with a 29:26 loss in the play-offs being followed by a 29:25 home win. The German side will take on Irudek Bidasoa Irun, which has last reached a semi-final in an European competition in the 2000/01 season in the Men’s EHF Cup.

Montpellier HB, which have played in the final in 2014, will be also looking to return to the EHF Finals, where they have qualified in the 2022/23 season, when they take on Portuguese side FC Porto.

Porto have eliminated French side Fenix Toulouse in the play-offs, with a 63:58 aggregate win, and now they will have another French side in the menu, but this time around, the challenge looks tougher.

Montpellier have dropped a single match this season and have plenty of experience going for them, as they aim to add another European trophy to their cabinet, which has two Champions League trophies, in 2003 and 2018.

Since 2001, the EHF European League Men has been won by German sides 20 times in 23 editions. The winners of the four quarter-finals will head to Hamburg, where the EHF Finals will take place in the Barclays Arena on 24 and 25 May.

Photo credit: Montpellier HB / Patricia Sports