The three European side taking part in the 2024 IHF Men’s Club World Championship will enter the fray, being overwhelming favourites against the three teams which lost in the first day of the competition hosted by the New Administrative Capital Hall in Egypt.

GROUP A

• 15:00 EEST Vesprem HC (HUN) vs Handebol Taubate (BRA)

GROUP B

• 20:30 EEST FC Barcelona (ESP) vs Sydney Uni (AUS)

GROUP C

• 17:30 EEST SC Magdeburg (GER) vs California Eagles (USA)

Riding a 12-match winning streak at the IHF Men’s Club World Championship, SC Magdeburg are gearing up for yet another campaign where they are eyeing the title at the world club handball flagship competition, which would mark a premiere. No team has ever won the competition four times in a row, with the German side and FC Barcelona being the only ones to secure three-peats.

Magdeburg will open their title defence against the California Eagles, which conceded a 23-goal loss against Khaleej Club on Friday, 25:48, but the American side showed strength in the first 17 minutes, when they even took a three-goal lead against the Saudi team, before conceding a big loss due to their lack of depth.

The German side are big favourites, as they usually deliver big wins against their non-European opponents, but this season they have been hit-and-miss, with only three wins clinched in seven matches in all competitions. In fact, Magdeburg come into this match with a two-match winless streak, after they lost in the German Bundesliga, 24:29 against THW Kiel, and drew in the Machineseeker EHF Champions League, 33:33, against Aalborg Handbold. With plenty of absences in their squad, like wings Tim Hornke, Daniel Pettersson and back Felix Claar, Magdeburg will have to find their strength to deliver good performances at the IHF Men’s Club World Championship, in order to keep their crown.

Their most likely challengers, FC Barcelona, the winners of the Machineseeker EHF Champions League last season, are looking for their maiden title since 2019, and will aim to secure a big win against Sydney Uni, before facing Al-Ahly in the second match.

The Australian side were at the receiving end of the largest loss so far in the competition, 15:49, against the hosts, having scored the lowest number goals, turning the ball over 24 times and converting only 35% of their shots, in yet another big loss, in which is their 11th appearance in the competition.

The two sides have met two times so far at the IHF Men’s Club World Championship, with Barcelona taking two big wins, 34:18 and 30:20, but the gap looks even bigger now, especially as the Spanish champions are unbeaten this season and have scored an average of 34.6 goals per match in the five competitive matches they played so far.

The last win came on Wednesday, when Barcelona delivered yet another good performance against Industria Kielce in the European premium competition, taking their third win in a row this season, 32:28.

In the first match of the day, Veszprem HC will mark their second appearance at the IHF Men’s Club World Championship, returning for the first time since 2015, when they finished second.

With a stellar line-up, including Egyptian star Yehia Elderaa, Veszprem also boasts the coach with the largest number of titles in the competition, Xavi Pascual, who took over the Hungarian champions this summer, and won the IHF Men’s Club World Championship five times with Barcelona.

Pascual oversaw a great start of the season for Veszprem, which was marred by a surprising loss this week, 30:39, in the Machineseeker EHF Champions League, against Sporting CP, with the Hungarian side falling short after taking a 41:28 win against PSG Handball one week earlier.

Veszprem will be favoured against Taubate, which saved their skin against Zamalek on Friday evening, after they cut their losses in the second half. Going down 16 goals in the 38th minute, the Brazilian side bounced back and eventually conceded a five-goal loss, 25:30, but the match against Veszprem looks definitely more difficult.