The eight teams left in the EHF European Cup Women 2021/22 have received their road map to the final. The draw at the EHF Office in Vienna on Tuesday determined not only the line-up for the quarter-finals in February but also the pairings for the semi-finals.
As no country protection rule was applied to the draw, the most eye-catching encounter of the quarter-finals is the all-Spanish duel between Visitelche.com Bm Elche and two-time Challenge Cup winners Rocasa Gran Canaria.
That match guarantees that a Spanish team will feature in the semi-finals – though it could be two: Costa del Sol Malaga are also still in the race, and the defending champions were handed a trip up North to visit IBV Vestmannaeyjar of Iceland in the first leg of the quarter-final.
If Malaga advance, they would avoid the winner of the Spanish derby in the semi-finals.
H71, the first team from Faroe Islands to get this far in a European club competition, continue their fairy-tale run this season against HC Galychanka Lviv, with the first leg to be played in Ukraine.
The Eastern European clash between ZRK Bekament Bukovicka Banja from Serbia and HC DAC Dunajská Streda from Slovakia completes the quarter-final schedule.
The quarter-final matches will be played on 12/13 and 19/20 February; the semi-finals are on the calendar for late March and early April.
EHF European Cup Women 2021/22
Quarter-finals (first leg on 12/13 February, second leg on 19/20 February):
- HC Galychanka Lviv (UKR) vs H71 (FAR)
- IBV Vestmannaeyjar (ISL) vs Costa del Sol Malaga (ESP)
- ZRK Bekament Bukovicka Banja (SRB) vs HC DAC Dunajská Streda (SVK)
- Visitelche.com Bm Elche (ESP) vs Rocasa Gran Canaria (ESP)
Semi-finals (first leg on 26/27 March, second leg on 2/3 April):
- Lviv / H71 vs Elche / Gran Canaria
- Vestmannaeyjar / Malaga vs Banja / Streda