Veszprém HC have clinched their second title at the IHF Men’s Club World Championship, after a dominating final against previous champions FC Barcelona, with a 42:33 win.

FINAL
FC Barcelona (ESP) vs Veszprém HC (HUN) 33:42 (16:22)

The previous four finals of the IHF Men’s Club World Championship finished in overtime, including the previous one between Veszprém HC and FC Barcelona. Was it a sign for the things to come in the last act of the 19th edition of the world club handball flagship competition?

For starters, the teams facing off for the big prize were once again Veszprém HC and FC Barcelona. The strongest sides in the competition, with the biggest depth and the best attacks.

But one thing changed from 2025 and that was Emil Nielsen switching sides from the Spanish side to Veszprém HC. And, at least in the first half, the goalkeeper made a huge difference, which translated into a six-goal lead for the Hungarian side after 30 minutes.

Rarely has a final has been more intense than this in the first part of the match, tying the record for the number of goals scored in the first part of a final at the IHF Men’s Club World Championship, 38, set in the match between SC Magdeburg and FC Barcelona in Dammam in 2022.

And especially when a goalkeeper manages to save nine shots of the first 27 he faces in such a high-octane match. But Nielsen was absolutely fantastic in the first part of the match, saving five of the first seven shots he faced, fueling a Veszprém run which proved to be decisive and the backbone of their win.

The Hungarian side went on an 8:1 run to take a 9:3 lead after only nine minutes, with six different players scoring at least one goal. And while Barcelona managed to muster a comeback and put some pressure on Veszprém, their chances were slowly going into thin air.

Having a stellar team at his disposal, coach Xavi Pascual, who secured his seventh title at the IHF Men’s Club World Championship, managed his team to perfection, changing players at exactly the right time and continuing to provide a well-balanced attack.

And Veszprém’s players delivered, with a perfectly rounded performance, which saw them take a six-goal lead at the break, 22:16, also scoring the largest number of goals in the first half of the final in the competition.

Barcelona’s closest encounter with Veszprém was in the 25th minute, when they cut the lead to only two goals, 14:16. But seven minutes later, Veszprém had scored another nine goals to Barcelona’s four,  being impossible to stop in attack.

After 33 minutes, Veszprém’s attacking efficiency was at a staggering 83% efficiency, with Barcelona’s goalkeepers Sergey Hernandez and Viktor Hallgrimsson combining for only five saves between them, half the number managed by Nielsen at that point.

Before this match, Barcelona were on a 64-match unbeaten streak, but that streak simply had no chance to continue against an attacking behemoth like Veszprém, who continued to press and score at free will.

Barcelona’s coach, Antonio Carlos Ortega, called his second team time-out after 39 minutes, when Hugo Descat and Nedim Remili already five goals each, and Veszprém lead by a staggering nine-goal margin, 30:21.

But the records kept on falling. In the previous final, Veszprém scored 30 goals in 80 minutes, with Barcelona needing overtime to win the title. This time around, the Hungarian side had 31 goals by the 41st minute.

No final of the IHF Men’s Club World Championship had previously finished with a larger difference than eight goals, with the record set by FC Barcelona, in their 34:26 win against Qatari side Al-Sadd in 2014. This time around, it was nine goals.

No final of the IHF Men's Club World Championship saw a team score more than 41 goals, with the record set by Magdeburg in their 41:39 overtime win against Barcelona in 2022. Veszprém had 42 here.

And the top goal scorer of the competition for the second edition in a row, France left wing Hugo Descat, finished the match with 10 goals, absolutely dominating Barcelona, as Veszprém continued to pile on the pressure.

The writing was on the wall from the start of the match and the final whistle just confirmed the predicted outcome: Veszprém produced a vintage performance on both sides of the ball to clinch a 42:33 win and their second title at the IHF Men’s Club World Championship.

Barcelona, on the other hand, lost their third final in history of the nine played and have to settle for silver, the same as in 2021 and 2022, when they lost against SC Magdeburg.

Player of the Match: Emil Nielsen (Veszprém HC)