First quarter-finalists confirmed as main round heats up in Porto Santo

The morning session in Porto Santo saw the completion of the preliminary round for the 16 teams competing in both the women's and men's competitions. The top three teams from each of the four groups advanced to the main round, while the fourth-ranked teams moved on to the consolation round, where they will play for positions 13-16.

The 12 teams still in the running continued their journey in the main round throughout the afternoon, showcasing the very best of beach handball. Strong performances secured the quarter-final spots for seven men's teams, leaving one place up for grabs.

On the women's side, however, it's all wide open, as six main round games were postponed to Saturday morning, due to technical issues with the power supply at the venue, interupting the last matches of the evening.

Women's competition

• After the second day of action, two Spanish teams (CBMP Ciudad de Málaga and Club Handbol Xàbia) and one Portuguese side (GRD Leça - Love Tiles) remain the only unbeaten teams in the competition

• In the rematch of the 2024 semi-finals, two of the favourites faced off in the main round; the defending champions from Málaga got their revenge on the 2024 winners, The Danish Beach Handball Dream, with a narrow 2:0 (17:16, 18:16) win

• Underdogs Xàbia continued their winning run on day two, making their mark on their debut at the tournament in Porto Santo

• The four-ranked teams — BHT Byczki Kowalewo Pomorskie (group A), Copaca-Bâlerina (group B), Beaurepaire Beach Handball (group C) and Young Guns Bremen (group D) — continue their journey in the consolation round to play for places 13-16

• With 74 points, Bremen's Carla Mattfeld is at the top of the scoring board

Men's competition

• Seven teams secured their quarter-final spots: 12 Monkeys Köln BHC, Nazaré BHT, Alba Fehérvár and Aarhus Beach from group I, joined by GRD Leça - Spar, CBMP Ciudad de Málaga and HÍR-SAT BHC from group II

• The 2024 champions and 2025 runners-up, GRD Leça - Spar, are the only team with a perfect record of five wins in Porto Santo

• 12 Monkeys Köln put an end to Aarhus Beach's winning streak in the main round, after the Danes stormed through the first stage, winning all four matches

• Never write off the reigning champions: Nazaré BHT are still in the running for the title; the Portuguese side made a statement win (2:1) against previously undefeated Alba Fehérvár in their final match of the evening

• The four-ranked teams — Hiekka Hauskaa (group A), BHC Rappi-Jona (group B), Black Lake Beach (group C) and London Beach Handball (group D) — continue their journey in the consolation round to play for places 13-16

The remaining main round games will be played on Saturday, 17 October, with the first match starting at 10:00 CEST. The quarter-finals on courts 1 and 2 will follow from 17:00 CEST, and after its completion, the fan voting for the All-star Teams will open on beach.eurohandball.com.

The full schedule for the women's competition is available here, and the schedule for the men’s competition can be found here. All the matches are available to watch live on EHFTV, while live scores and updates of all the matches can be reached here.

Photos: kolektiff