16 sides dive into the knockout phase

European Handball Federation

20 March 2023, 15:00

Tuesday sees us enter the business end of the EHF European League Men as 16 teams entering the knockout phase with dreams of taking a step closer to the EHF Finals.

We expect a typical Danish team with a lot of technique and a fast game. We need to focus on our game and play our fast handball. Our goalkeepers in combination with our defence are one of the big points to get a good game.

Jaron Siewert

Coach, Füchse Berlin

Our play-off opponent Nexe is a team that has big ambitions in their home championship and in the European competition. Our guys showed great character and performance in the final games of the group stage against experienced and well-organised opponents like Bidasoa Irun and Eurofarm Pelister. We’re stepping into next stage with optimism. We intend to keep the Ukrainian handball flag high as long as possible - despite the difficult situation in our home country.

Gintaras Savukynas

Coach, HC Motor

Valur (ISL) vs Frisch Auf Göppingen (GER)
Tuesday 21 March, 20:45 CET, live on EHFTV

the German club progressed further from the second spot in Group A, Icelandic side finished third in group B
this will be the first encounter between these clubs
the German side had the second-best defence of the group phase with 27.4 goals conceded on average per game; Valur's goalkeeper Björgvin Pall Gustavsson with 125 saves is the second-best shot-stopper
Valur played a knock-out stage of European competition three times - Champions League eight-finals in 1993/94 and 1995/6, and Challenge Cup semi-finals in 2016/17, Göppingen are in their first EHF European League campaign after playing EHF Cup last in 2016/17
prior to the clash, Valur were defeated by Selfoss (31:33) in their domestic championship, Göppingen had a draw (27:27) against another EL Last 16 participant, SG Flensburg Handewitt in the Bundesliga

Kadetten Schaffhausen (SUI) vs Ystads IF HF (SWE)
Tuesday 21 March, 20:45 CET, live on EHFTV

Schaffhausen enjoyed their most successful group phase in the second-tier EHF competition with seven victories, including two against defending champions SL Benfica - and finished third in group A below Montpellier and Göppingen
Ystad finished second in group B with 11 points and were the only team to beat group winners SG Flensburg-Handewitt - and only count on Scandinavian players
Icelandic new arrival Odinn Thor Rikhardsson is Kadetten's current top scorer in the European League with 67 goals. Jonathan Svensson (67) and three-times Champions League winner Kim Andersson (56) are Ystad’s top scorers
Kadetten play their 26th season in EHF European Cup competitions, and have qualified for international competitions every year since 2004, while Ystad are currently in their sixth season of the second-tier EHF competition
last season, Kadetten proceeded to the quarter-finals of the European League, beating another Swedish team, Sävehof, in the Last 16; Ystad’s only duels with a Swiss team were in the 2002/03 season of the EHF Cup, when they eliminated St. Gallen in the second round

FTC (HUN) vs Montpellier HB (FRA)
Tuesday 21 March, 20:45 CET, live on EHFTV

FTC qualified for the Last 16 by finishing fourth in group B, with nine points. They booked their ticket thanks to a last-second equalizer against Flensburg-Handewitt (27:27) in their last game
Montpellier finished first in group A, with 16 points, having lost only two games in the group phase
FTC’s Bence Nagy is currently the European League second best scorer, with 84 goals across 14 games. Kyllian Villeminot netted 52 times for Montpellier across 11 games
Montpellier lost their two left-wingers to injuries in March. As a reaction, the club signed early Jaime Fernandez, from Norhorn, who was meant to join the club next summer
last weekend, Montpellier defeated Chartres in the French league (27:24) while FTC lost against Szeged in the Hungarian league (33:37)

Bidasoa Irun (ESP) vs Sporting CP (POR)
Tuesday 21 March, 20:45 CET, live on EHFTV

Irun booked their Last 16 ticket by finishing third in group D, while Sporting grabbed the second spot in group C
this season is the second in a row that the Spanish side qualified for the Last 16. Last season, they were eliminated by GOG (63:59 on aggregate)
Sporting also qualified the European League Last 16 in 2021/22 and enjoyed a similar fate against SC Magdeburg (65:64 on aggregate)
Sporting’s Martim Costa is currently the third best scorer in the European League with 73 goals across 12 games. Irun’s best scorer, Inaki Cavero Echepare, netted 56 times in 11 games
of both teams, only Sporting had a game scheduled last weekend. They won it, 32:30 against Gaia in the Portuguese league

They're a team that plays a lot in transitions, despite not having many tall players. They have very versatile players, who are capable of playing in several positions. They will try to take advantage of playing with their fans to leave Spain with some advantage. We have to be ready for that and we're going to have to be connected to the game. We know it's going to be very intense.

Natán Suarez

Centre back, Sporting CP

If we want to win the competition, we must beat the best and Flensburg are one of the best, but we are the defending champions. It’s a fact that the group stage didn’t go the way we wanted, but now it’s the knockout stage. We play at home, we want to take a win to Germany and put pressure on their side.

Belóne Moreira

Centre back, SL Benfica