Michalovce and Guardes start duel for EHF European Cup Women title

Both sides have previously played the final once, but lost on aggregate, meaning that a new name will appear in the winners’ list: either the first Slovakian champions or the fourth from Spain in the last six years. The first leg of the final will be played in Michalovce on Sunday (17 May), and the crucial return leg in Pontevedra one week later.

FINAL, LEG 1

MSK IUVENTA Michalovce (SVK) vs Club Balonmán Atlético Guardes (ESP)

Sunday 17 May, 16:00 CEST, live on EHFTV

• Guardes arrive unbeaten in the final, with five victories and one draw, while Michalovce have an outcome of seven victories and one defeat, as they started one round earlier
• in the previous two rounds, Guardes eliminated two former Spanish European Cup champions: they beat ATTICGO Bm Elche with a close aggregate result of 41:40 in the quarter-finals and took a clearer 52:47 win against Costa del Sol Malaga in the semi-finals
• Michalovce were close to elimination in the semi-finals against Türkiye’s Bursa Büyüksehir BSK after losing the first leg away 34:29; in the second leg, they won 25:19, thanks to a double strike from Emilia Kowalik in the last minute
• Atlético Guardes were finalists in 2023, losing 50:43 on aggregate to Antalya Konyaaltı, while Michalovce played their only previous final in 2024 against Elche, losing 50:42 on aggregate
• the Spanish side were semi-finalists three times in the last five years (2021, 2023, 2025), while Michalovce played their fourth consecutive semi-final this season
• the current top scorers of the two sides are separated by only one goal: Martina Popovcová has scored 33 goals for Michalovce while María Sancha is on 37 season strikes for Guardes
• up to seven players from South America will be on court in the final: Michalovce have three players from Brazil and one from Argentina in their squad, while Atlético Guardes count on two players from Paraguay and one from Cuba
• overall, Guardes have five different nations represented in their squad (Spain, France, Slovenia, Paraguay, Cuba), while there are six in the Michalovce squad (Slovakia, Ukraine, Brazil, Montenegro, Argentina, Poland)

Will the Spanish dominance continue?

Since the competition was re-named from the EHF Challenge Cup to EHF European Cup Women in 2020/21, at least one Spanish team has always been in the final, including in 2021/22 when Rocasa Gran Canaria beat Costa del Sol Malaga in a national derby. The second leg in Malaga broke a spectator record for women’s handball in Spain with an attendance of 7,183 fans.

Before, Malaga won the trophy in 2021, as Elche did in 2024. In 2023, Guardes were beaten by Turkish side Antalya in the finals; last year, Porriño lost to Iceland’s Valur. Previously, Gran Canaria also won the EHF Challenge Cup in 2016 and 2019, underlining Spanish dominance in this tier of competition in the last 10 years.

Photos © Bursa Büyüksehir BSK, Tamara Alonso SportCoeco