Four teams have advanced to the EHF FINAL4 in Budapest, the business end of the EHF Champions League Women, which will take place on 3 and 4 June 2023 in the MVM Dome.

While two favourites – reigning champions Vipers Kristiansand and Györi Audi ETO KC – confirmed their status, it was FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria which duly delivered a performance for the ages in the second leg against Metz Handball to clinch their first EHF FINAL4 berth. At the same time, Team Esbjerg downed CSM Bucuresti to secure another ticket to Budapest.

In total, three of the four sides which made the cut last season also went through this time around, with FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria being the odd one in after an astonishing comeback against Metz, with their fans promising to deliver an excellent atmosphere in Budapest.

Down six goals after their loss in the first leg against Metz Handball, which won all their seven home games this season, FTC looked done and dusted, especially after the second leg's first half ended in a 17:17 deadlock.

But in the second half, FTC rode an excellent game from right wing Angela Malestein, who scored eight goals, to create a huge gap, superbly finishing the game with a 33:26 win, which left Metz stunned and out of contention for the EHF FINAL4, an otherworldly turn of events, one of the biggest surprises in the history of the EHF Champions League Women at this stage of the competition.

The Hungarian side, which failed to qualify for the EHF FINAL4 every time since the new format was introduced in 2014, will now aim to fight for the title. Still, they will be a true underdog after an underwhelming performance in the competition's group phase.

Another team that has secured safe passage directly to the quarter-finals of the EHF Champions League Women after finishing the group phase on one of the top two places, CSM Bucuresti, saw their hopes squashed by Team Esbjerg for the second season in a row after the Danish side had won their mutual doubleheader in the previous season in the same phase of the competition.

CSM lost the first leg (28:32) in Denmark and was close to turning the doubleheader on its head, leading by three goals close to the end of the first half. Backs Kristine Breistøl and Nora Mørk plus left wing Sanna Solberg-Isaksen were Esbjerg's top scorers, combining for 19 goals, with Breistøl scoring seven goals and leading Esbjerg to a 65:59 aggregate win.

The MVP of the 2021 IHF Women's World Championship, line player Kari Brattset Dale returned to the EHF Champions League Women for the first time since last February and scored six goals in the doubleheader against Odense, which Brattset Dale's team, Györ, had little trouble winning.

Facing their future coach Ulrik Kirkely, Györ were backed into a corner in the first leg, where Odense led by as many as six goals, but still won that game and doubled down with a 37:28 win on their home court, taking an aggregate 66:55 win and earning their eighth berth in nine editions for the EHF FINAL4, this also being their seventh in a row.

Last but not least, reigning champions Vipers Kristiansand cruised to a 71:56 win over rookies CS Rapid Bucuresti, the largest in the quarter-finals, with dominating displays in both legs, including a clear 40:31 home win, which was Rapid's worst-ever loss in the top European competition.

Esbjerg's left back Henny Reistad, the All-Star left back at the 2021 IHF Women's World Championship, has a huge chance to secure the top goal scorer award in the European premium competition, scoring 130 goals so far, 12 more than CSM's Cristina Neagu, 23 more than Vipers' Marketa Jerabkova and 24 more than FTC's Katrin Klujber, with only the latter two being able to leapfrog the excellent Reistad.

The draw for the semi-finals will take place on Tuesday 9 May in Budapest, with the EHF FINAL4 being held in the MVM Dome in Budapest on 3 and 4 June.

EHF Champions League Women – quarter-finals
Metz Handball (FRA) vs FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria (HUN) 58:59 on aggregate
CSM Bucuresti (ROU) vs Team Esbjerg (DEN) 59:65 on aggregate
Vipers Kristiansand (NOR) vs CS Rapid Bucuresti (ROU) 71:56 on aggregate
Györi Audi ETO KC (HUN) vs Odense Handbold (DEN) 66:55 on aggregate

Photo: Kevin Clément