The group phase of the first edition of the EHF European League Women brought nail-biting and exciting games, with the top eight teams progressing to the quarter-finals.
It has been, at times, a roller-coaster of emotions for many teams, with four sides learning their fates after the final whistle was blown in their groups.
Now that the quarter-finals pairings have been completed it is time to draw some conclusions before the competition resumes in the last weekend of March.
Four nations represented in the quarter-finals
Teams from nine different nations progressed to the group phase, with Russia (four teams) and France (three teams) leading the way. However, after the group phase was completed, only four nations sent teams in the knockout stages of the EHF European League Women.
Russia still has the best chance at taking the title, boasting three sides in the quarter-finals: Astrakhanochka, HC Lada and HC Zvezda. However, neither of those sides won their group, all of them finishing second and set to meet group winners in the next phase.
Both Romanian sides have progressed from their groups, but as HC Dunarea Braila failed to win their group, they will meet CS Minaur Baia Mare. Therefore, a Romanian team will definitely be in the semi-finals and go a step closer to emulating SCM Craiova’s EHF Cup win in 2018.
France, Denmark and Hungary each have a team in the quarter-finals with Nantes Atlantique HB, Herning-Ikast Handbold and Siófok KC all winning their groups and will have home advantage for the second leg of their quarter-final contests.
Only one unbeaten side
Only a single team is undefeated after the group phase, underlining the lack of predictability and the balanced nature of the competition. While CS Minaur Baia Mare and Herning-Ikast Handbold both lost one game, pre-season favourites Siófok KC have shown remarkable composure and consistency in the last two months.
An experienced side, which won the Women’s EHF Cup in the 2018/19 season, the Hungarian outfit swept their opponents in impressive fashion, dropping a single point, after a 28:28 draw against Kuban in the first round.
Siófok have embarked on a five-game winning streak, boasting an impressive attack and a strong defence, yet a balanced style throughout the first six games. With key experienced players like line player Katarina Jezic, the captain of the Croatian team that won the bronze medal at EHF EURO 2020, backs such as Tamara Horacek, Gnosiane Niombla and Zsuszanna Tomori, Siófok had no trouble in securing first place after the first five rounds and look like the team to beat having overcome early-season troubles.