A dramatic finish to the group phase of the 2022/23 season of the EHF European League Men was on the cards on Tuesday evening, with a handful of teams securing their Last 16 berth after the last round, including Hungarian side FTC, which earned safe passage to the knockout phase after tying the match against SG Flensburg-Handewitt in the last second.

Three teams from Germany, two from Spain, Portugal and Denmark and one each from Croatia, France, Hungary, Iceland, Switzerland, Sweden and Ukraine earned safe passage for the Last 16 phase, which will be played as a double-header on 21 and 28 March.

Only one team swept their opponents in the group phase, winning all the 10 matches scheduled, Füchse Berlin in Group D. The German powerhouse, who is also leading the domestic league, had the best attack in the competition, averaging 34.3 goals per match, and the best goal difference, +77. They also had a six-point advantage over Danish side Skanderborg-Aarhus, who finished second. In contrast, Ukrainian side HC Motor, who are currently playing in Germany, ended up in fourth place, joining Bidasoa Irun as one of the four qualified teams from the group.

The most dramatic finish came in Group B, where FTC led by as many as five goals in their do-or-die clash against SG Flensburg-Handewitt, only to see themselves down two goals with 30 seconds left. A loss would have seen FTC out, but goals from Bence Nagy and Alex Bognar helped tie the match (27:27), with Bognar scoring a buzzer-beater to seal a point for the hosts. It meant that Flensburg won the group by a comfortable margin, followed by Swedish side Ystads IF HF and Icelandic side Valur. FTC had one point more over PAUC Handball, who would have gone through in case of a tie at points due to a superior goal difference. For the French side, who had a five-match losing streak in the group, it was the second consecutive exit from the group phase of the EHF European League Men.

Title holders SL Benfica struggled mightily this season but eventually clinched their berth for the Last 16, finishing in fourth place, with the group won by Montpellier HB. The French side lost two of the last three matches but had enough in the tank to clinch first place, holding the tiebreaker against Frisch Auf Göppingen. Swiss side Kadetten Schaffhausen finished third.

Last but not least, RK Nexe had another superb start to the European season after they qualified for the EHF Finals Men last time around, winning their group with a two-point advantage over Sporting CP. Fraikin Granollers and Skjern also made it through.

Motor’s left back Ihor Turchenko was the top scorer of the group phase, putting 85 goals past the opponents in the 10 matches he played, followed by Ystads’ left back Jonathan Svensson with 67 goals.

Only four of the last 25 editions of the European second-tier competition have been won by teams outside of Germany, with SC Magdeburg, THW Kiel and Frisch Auf Göppingen being the most decorated team in the history of the competition with four wins each.

The most interesting ties seem to feature German sides, as Flensburg will face SL Benfica in the Last 16 phase, while Füchse Berlin meet Danish side Skjern in clashes that could spell trouble for the German powerhouses.

The last-16-phase of the competition will be played as a double-header on 21 and 28 March, with the teams that finished either first or second in the group phase hosting their opponents in the second leg.

EHF European League Men – Last 16 phase schedule

Bidasoa Irun (ESP) vs Sporting CP (POR)
FTC (HUN) vs Montpellier HB (FRA)
Fraikin BM. Granollers (ESP) vs Skanderborg-Aarhus (DEN)
SL Benfica (POR) vs SG Flensburg-Handewitt (GER)
Valur (ISL) vs Frisch Auf Göppingen (GER)
HC Motor (UKR) vs RK Nexe (CRO)
Kadetten Schaffhausen (SUI) vs Ystads IF HF (SWE)
Skjern Handball (DEN) vs Füchse Berlin (GER)

Photo: Skanderborg-Aarhus