Despite defeat, Montpellier make it to Hamburg

EHF / Björn Pazen

05 May 2026, 23:00

For the third time since 2023, Montpellier Handball have qualified for the final tournament of the EHF European League Men. But the Road to the Winamax EHF Finals (30/31 May) was temporarily much steeper than expected. HC Vardar fought like lions to make their miracle come true, but the ten-goal deficit from the reverse fixture was too huge to overcome and book their ticket to Hamburg.

QUARTER-FINALS, SECOND LEG

HC Vardar 1961 (MKD) vs Montpellier Handball (FRA) 27:24 (16:12)

Top scorers: Jaka Malus (HC Vardar 1961) 6/11, Kylian Villeminot 5/8, Benjamin Richert 5/10 (both Montpellier Handball)
First leg result: 23:33, Montpellier won 57:50 on aggregate

Backed by nine saves from goalkeeper Milos Walach, HC Vardar 1961 played a dominant first half; their biggest advantage before the break was five goals.
With the ten-goal cushion from the reverse fixture in mind, Montpellier tried to slow down the pace, but the 1:0 was their only lead in the first half.
Even the early red card against Uroš Mitrović did not stop Vardar’s courageous attempt to achieve a miracle.
A 3:1 run after the break even extended the hopes of the Macedonians, who were ahead by seven goals for the first time.
When Benjamin Richert finished a 4:1 run for 22:18 in minute 46, Montpellier had effectively secured their ticket for the Winamax EHF Finals.
Finally, Vardar missed the chance to qualify for their fourth ever final tournament in an EHF competition after winning the EHF Champions League in 2017 and 2019 and finishing fourth in Cologne in 2018.

Montpellier are back on the big stage

Montpellier Handball have their fifth final tournament in three different EHF club competitions ahead on 30/31 May in Hamburg. In 2014, they reached the final of the EHF Cup but lost to Pick Szeged. In 2018, they claimed the EHF Champions League trophy for the second time after 2003, beating HBC Nantes in the all-French final. Now, they play their third EHF Finals in the European League Men after finishing fourth in Flensburg in 2023 and reaching the 2025 final in Hamburg, which they lost against Flensburg.

On the road to the Winamax EHF Finals 2026, Montpellier were drawn into a tough group with Kiel and Irun, and lost twice against THW, then faced Flensburg again in the main round (one victory, one defeat) and eliminated Elverum HK in the play-offs. As against the Norwegian runners-up in the previous round (36:24), a clear home win was the key to progressing also in the quarter-finals.

Over the two matches, they were better than us. In the second match we were really good - we fought and believed until the end. Respect to Montpellier as a team. I knew it would be difficult, but we fought until the end. I don’t want to say anything bad about my players - they gave everything. We definitely learned something. Thanks to our players. We are happy that as a club we are back in Europe, among the top teams.

Ivan Cupic, head coach of HC Vardar 1961

It was a tough match. We knew from the first game that it would be difficult. I know the atmosphere in Skopje - they are always together with the team. Today they were fantastic. Vardar showed Europe that they have a great atmosphere. As for the game, we knew it would be hard. We had a good result from the first match and we kept that advantage. We
made many mistakes and lost balls, and the goalkeepers were excellent. Still, we managed to get back into the game and qualify for Hamburg.

Rogerio Moraes, line player of Montpellier Handball