The 24 clubs in the qualification stage are aiming for 12 tickets to the group matches, where they will join 20 teams that were directly seeded into the next phase, including back-to-back title winners SG Flensburg-Handewitt.
HIGHLIGHT MATCHES
QUALIFICATION ROUND
IRUDEK Bidasoa Irun (ESP) vs ABC de Braga Lusíadas Saúde (POR)
Saturday 30 August, 18:30 CEST, live on EHFTV
- one of a few qualification round clashes featuring two teams that played the EHF European League 2024/25 — but while Irun made it to the quarter-finals, Braga did not progress past the qualification stage last season
- Irun are the only team in the qualification round to have won the top-flight competition, the EHF Champions League — they took the trophy in 1994/95 and made the final again the following year
- in the EHF European League last season, Irun lost to MT Melsungen in the quarter-finals, being defeated by just one goal away and then losing by 10 on their home court
- Irun’s roster is more international than Braga’s, with players from Spain, Poland, Brazil, Argentina, Cuba, Serbia, France and Chile compared to all Portuguese except for two Brazilians; Irun’s Argentinian goalkeeper Leonel Maciel and their Chilean back Rodrigo Salinas have long been key players in their national teams
- Irun, who ranked fourth in the ASOBAL league 2024/25, are embarking on their 14th European cup season, while Braga are starting their 23rd
Recken - TSV Hannover-Burgdorf (GER) vs HC Alkaloid (MKD)
Sunday 31 August, 17:00 CEST, live on EHFTV
- HC Alkaloid won the EHF European Cup title last season and are back for their second participation in the EHF European League; in 2023/24, they played the group matches and did not progress further
- Hannover also last played the European League in 2023/24, reaching the play-offs, where they were knocked out by fellow 2025/26 qualification round participants IK Sävehof
- neither team has a long history in European cup competitions — for Alkaloid, the last two seasons mark their only participations, while Hannover also played the EHF Cup in 2018/19 and 2013/14
- Alkaloid are contesting the EHF European League 2025/26 after placing third in the Macedonian league in 2024/25, while Hannover finished sixth in the Bundesliga last year
- Hannover’s line-up features several German internationals, including the side’s top scorer at the 2025 World Championship and 2024 Olympic Games Renars Uscins; 23-year-old Uscins netted 39 goals in the club’s last European League season and can be expected to play a bigger role this season
- on the path to the European Cup trophy in 2024/25, Alkaloid were led by 68 goals from Macedonian international Martin Serafimov
