Last round to decide play-offs and quarter-finals picture
The last round of the EHF Champions League Women 2024/25 group phase takes place at the end of the week. While Metz Handball and FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria have already secured direct quarter-final spots in group A, the race for the remaining play-off places is still wide open. Storhamar Handball Elite and CS Gloria 2018 BN will battle to keep their European dreams alive, facing tough challenges against Metz Handball and CSM Bucuresti. In the Match of the Week, Krim Mercator Ljubljana and HC Podravka Vegeta meet in a clash for fourth place.
In group B, Buducnost and Rapid Bucuresti are locked into a head-to-head battle for the last play-offs spot, while Team Esbjerg need to win by two goals or more at home against Györi Audi ETO KC to decide the winner of the group.
We are facing a very important match against a strong team that we managed to defeat in the first round of this group stage. CSM Bucuresti have quality players, experience and a competitive spirit that cannot be underestimated. As for us, we are in a period of transformation, we are in a moment in which we are working to find our identity and rebuild our team cohesion. It’s not an easy process, we know our problems and we strive to solve them step by step.
The stakes remain the same for us: to continue winning in front of our fans and remain unbeaten in this group phase. Storahmar is the only team we shared points with on the first day. The team was at the beginning of what we've been building ever since. A lot of things have changed on both sides, with different careers. There will be a lot of commitment once again and we'll be keen to show that our team has changed a lot in the last six months.
It's a match against the team that won the group, it's a difficult away game. We played evenly against them the last time and got one point, the only point they have lost in the group stage. We have to focus on what we do best, then I think it will be a high-tempo match from the start.
Podravka Vegeta are in good shape. They seem hungry for success. We know them well and we know what to expect. It is up to us to prepare well. We try to make the most of every day. The opponents are coming to our hall, to our house, so it's important how we step on the court. Saturday's match is not a 'to be or not to be' game, but it's still very important for the rest of the season.
We know the team, as they know us. We will try to exploit their weaknesses and provide the best possible game, as in all the matches so far. It will be a difficult match, but I believe in my team that in the last match of the group stage we will provide the best game so far.
We need to find the same mindset we had in the Odense match, where we had a lot of attitude and will to win. Györ is a great team, so we have to be well-prepared. We have also never beaten them before and that is a nice motivation to have going into the match.
Playing our next match against Buducnost, I think our defence needs to be the most important. We really want to win this game because we want to go to the next round in the Champions League. We have to take these points from there and bring them back to Bucharest. It will be really hard because they play at home and they are a really tough defensive team, so I hope we can win against them.
