2024 champions, Veszprém HC, secured their ticket for the Group Phase of the 2026 IHF Men’s Club World Championship, with a clear win against Sydney Uni, 45:19.

PRELIMINARY QUALIFICATION MATCH
Sydney Uni (AUS) vs Veszprém HC (HUN) 19:45 (6:25)

It was the third meeting between the two sides at the IHF Men’s Club World Championship and, once again, Veszprém HC had little trouble to deliver a big win, despite coach Xavi Pascual constantly rotating his formation, to rest his players for the next challenges in the competition.

The recipe for Veszprém was simple: provide a good defence, earn balls there and use them to launch devastating fast breaks. And it worked like a charm: their top scorers were two wings – Hugo Descat and Máté Gáncs-Pető – who converted plenty of fast breaks.

By the ninth minute, the Hungarian champions were already up nine goals, 9:3, scoring at free will, with Sydney unable to contain them. And from there on, it was only a matter of the score difference, with Veszprém having already won 51:15 against their Australian counterparts one year ago.

But could Veszprém open up a 36-goal difference? It looked improbable, even if the match became a highlight reel for the Hungarian side, who continuously managed to score on the fast breaks.

Descat had 11 goals, Gáncs-Pető added 13, with all but four of Veszprém’s outfield players scoring at least one goal. On the other hand, Sydney’s numbers in attack turned sour in the second half, with the Australian side turning the ball over 22 times and eventually conceding a 19:45 loss, lighter than the one in the previous edition.

Veszprém will now head to Group B, where they face Egyptian side Al-Ahly, Kuwaiti side Burgan and German powerhouse Füchse Berlin. Sydney Uni will finish either ninth or tenth, after the conclusion of the two matches played against the loser of the other Preliminary Qualification Match between Zamalek SC and Los Angeles Handball Club.

Player of the Match: Hugo Descat (Veszprém HC)