Last season's finalists start new EHF Champions League campaigns on the road
The new EHF Champions League Women season starts this weekend with highly entertaining matches. Metz Handball open their title defence away from home, playing at Storhamar Håndball Elite. Group B also features the Match of the Week, as HC Podravka face seven-time winners and last season's runners-up Györi Audi ETO KC, while an exciting Danish derby between Nykøbing Falster Håndbold and Odense Håndbold takes place in the same group.
Two more EHF FINAL4 2026 participants begin their campaigns in group A, with CSM Bucuresti facing perennial participants RK Krim OTP Group Mercator and Brest Bretagne Handball taking on Norwegian champions Sola Håndballklubb. OTP Group Buducnost add another chapter to their long history in the competition against FTC-Toyota Kovács, while Team Esbjerg start their journey away at BV Borussia Dortmund.
We all know the quality of our opponent, but we are going into the match with a clear vision and a lot of determination. Our goal is to bring maximum energy from the very first minute, play solid defence and stay focused throughout all 60 minutes. We are playing in front of our home fans, which gives us extra strength, so I believe we will give everything on the court and start the season with a strong performance.
The first game in the Champions League always comes with big emotions and expectations, so it's a little bit hard. It doesn't matter against who you play, I think we need to be ready 100 per cent. Krim played some tournament games and we have watched all of them so we did a good analysis. We have prepared like we do for any other game and I think we have the quality to do the job in Ljubljana but we need to be focused 100 per cent.
I’m glad we are starting with a home game, and hopefully lots of fans will come out. Esbjerg are a top-tier opponent right off the bat; it’s definitely going to be extremely tough. But I think we have nothing to lose, we can go into the first game with a sense of freedom and enjoy it. We want to stay in the game as long as possible, give it our all, and then see if we can maybe give Esbjerg a bit of a run for their money.
Starting with a match against Dortmund is a good thing for us. They have a strong squad, so in order to get the win, we need to play very well. But if we manage to play the game as we know we can, we should have a good chance at getting the two points.
Just like last year, we are starting against one of the toughest opponents — Brest. So, it will be exciting to see what the difference is between us this year compared to last year. We have had a somewhat challenging pre-season, with quite a few injuries, so I’m really excited to see what level we are at now as we enter the Champions League. Our goal is to keep improving throughout the season and hopefully reach a higher level, so that we can pick up more points than we did last year.
Specifically in the first three rounds, we face an exceptionally tough run of opponents. First up are Györ, the European runners-up; when all or most of their players are healthy, they have assembled a squad that is arguably the best of the last decade, if not of all-time. On paper, based on the names of the players, they certainly have the edge, though sometimes names alone don't win matches.
I'm excited to get to play with ETO and be a part of the team, and of course a little bit nervous. We played against Podravka in a training game, and I feel like they were good — they came with a lot of power and speed, so I'm looking forward to the game.
It will be exciting and fun playing Champions League matches again. We are really looking forward to it. Metz won Champions League last season, so it is a very tough opening match for us. We know it’s going to be a tough game and that we’ll need to play at our absolute best to keep up with Metz. It will require great discipline in every phase of the game, and we have to be prepared to be challenged on speed and physicality.
It is the beginning of a new campaign. A new story to write. And we obviously have the ambition to start it in the best possible way. But for that, we know what awaits us. Storhamar are a team that we have a great deal of respect for, a team that has always caused us a lot of problems and against whom we need to be able to produce a complete performance if we hope to win. Starting this new adventure against an opponent of this quality is obviously a challenge. But it is also everything we love about this competition — immediately facing the highest level, stepping out of our comfort zone and having to show, from the very first match, what we are capable of.
We’re really excited for our first Champions League game. We know we’re up against a tough challenge, but we want to go out there, play with courage and give it everything we’ve got. We hope we can fill the hall and create an incredible atmosphere together with our fans. It’s a special moment for the club, and we’re really looking forward to playing our first Champions League game in the club’s history.
Starting the Champions League at Blomberg against the current German league and super cup champions is a huge challenge. They have a very tough and physical defence. In attack, Nieke Kühne gives them an edge. They are a great team and it will be very difficult, but we're going to Germany with the utmost respect for our opponent and with the hope of achieving a great result.
