The group phase of the 2025/26 season of the EHF European League Women concluded last weekend, with eight of the 16 participating teams progressing to the quarter-finals.

Teams from eight countries were to stake their claim to the trophy, with Romania and Germany each having three teams each, while Hungary, Norway, France and Denmark have two competitors between the 16-team line-up. Croatia and Poland have one team each in the group phase.

Two Danish teams - Nykøbing Falster Håndbold and Viborg HK – two Hungarian teams – Motherson Mosonmagyaróvári KC and MOL Esztergom – plus reigning champions Thüringer HC, Romanian outfit CS Rapid București, French side JDA Bourgogne Dijon HB and Croatian team RK Lokomotiva Zagreb made it through the next phase of the competition.

Group A was the most competitive in the competition, with three teams doing battle until the final matchday to secure their places in the quarter-finals. Before the last matchday, Thüringer HC, Motherson Mosonmagyaróvári KC and Minaur Baia Mare were tied at six points apiece, with Baia Mare losing a crucial match with Larvik on their home court in the fifth matchday.

With Thüringer HC winning against Larvik, 34:28, and Motherson Mosonmagyaróvári KC sealing a hard-fought 28:26 win against Baia Mare, the two sides made it to the quarter-finals, with Thüringer HC sealing the first place, thanks to holding the tiebreaker against Motherson Mosonmagyaróvári KC, with a 34:24 win at home and a 34:36 loss in Hungary.

In the quarter-finals, Motherson Mosonmagyaróvári KC will face the winner of Group B, MOL Esztergom, which means Hungary will certainly have a team in the EHF Finals, which will take place on 16 and 17 May in Graz, Austria.

MOL Esztergom finished their group on the top with nine points, being undefeated in the last five matches, after a 32:34 loss against NFH in the first match. The Hungarian side were two points ahead of NFH, which will meet Thüringer HC in a high-octane doubleheader in the quarter-finals, after two wins, three draws and one loss, in a group which saw four draws.

Group C was dominated by Romanian side CS Rapid București, which had Estavana Polman in superb form in the group phase, scoring 37 goals. The MVP of the 2019 IHF Women’s World Championship led her team to the first place in the group, with a single loss for Rapid, 24:29, in the last match, when everything was decided, against the second qualified team, RK Lokomotiva Zagreb.

The battle in Group D went down to the wire, with JDA Bourgogne Dijon Handball finishing on the top, with four wins, one draw and one loss, including a fantastic 33:32 win against Viborg HK in the last matchday.

Viborg were the second qualified team, after they salvaged a draw in the first leg against Corona Brașov, 33:33, and won the away match against the Romanian side, 34:28, to finish one point ahead of Corona.

Just like last season, Thüringer HC’s left back, Johanna Reichert, is the top goal scorer of the competition, having a huge margin in front, as she scored 71 goals in the six matches played, 22 more than Corona Brașov’s Katarina Krpez-Slezak and Larvik’s left back Maja Furu Sæteren.

The first legs of the quarter-finals of the EHF European League Women will take place on 21 and 22 March, with the deciders being scheduled one week later.

EHF European League Women – quarter-finals

Nykøbing Falster Håndbold (DEN) vs Thüringer HC (GER)
Motherson Mosonmagyaróvári KC (HUN) vs MOL Esztergom (HUN)
Viborg HK (DEN) vs CS Rapid București (ROU)
RK Lokomotiva Zagreb (CRO) vs JDA Bourgogne Dijon HB (FRA)

Photo credit: CS Rapid București / Sabin Malisevschi