Opening-round winners chase momentum; title holders host Bistrita
Round 2 of the EHF Champions League Women 2026/27 group phase brings another exciting weekend. The Match of the Week will be played in group B as reigning champions Metz Handball host Gloria Bistrita, after both sides opened their campaigns with victories.
We are expecting a tight match. Buducnost is a well-combined team this season, they play long attacks and aggressive defence. Of course, I think it will be a difficult but very interesting match because, as we know, Bojana knows this team very well and I know this team well, I’ve been there, I played with many of the players that are in the squad. So I think it will be fun.
Against CSM, we showed that our attacking game can work very well, but on the other hand, we conceded too many goals. We analysed the match, identified where we can improve and what we still need to work on going forward. Now we face FTC, a very strong team, so we expect a tough match. We want to approach it with full focus and concentrate primarily on our own game — being solid in defence and making the most of the opportunities we create in attack.
Of course, it’s going to be another tough game, but we knew this season was going to be challenging, and we have to be 100 per cent focused and committed in every game. The next one will be difficult, but we have to step up, do our job and get the result we want. And of course, Dortmund are a very good team, with a lot of experienced international players. So we need to prepare really well, make sure we’re fresh, and give everything we have to get the best possible result.
Brest is an absolute top team on the European stage. I learned a lot there. We need to play really well if we want to stay in the game. Brest plays an incredibly fast, forward-driven handball — the coordination between the back court and the pivot is perfect. We need to be on from the very start. That is absolutely crucial. But I do believe we will go into the game in Brest well prepared.
I’m really looking forward to coming to Esbjerg and playing the game, as well as meeting many of the players I played with on the Norwegian national team. The game will probably be a little too tough for us to come away with points, but it will be a great learning experience for our young players as we prepare for the Champions League matches to come throughout the autumn.
In the first game, we made too many simple mistakes, especially in attack. We want to improve on that now and put things right in front of our home fans. We’re also looking forward to seeing our supporters again on Saturday and playing in front of a loud crowd. Because without our fans, we’re not the complete team.
We’re looking forward to this year’s first away game in the Champions League. We’re prepared for it to be a tough away game, against a team that plays with lots of energy and is strong in duels, both going forward and defending. Blomberg-Lippe has a solid defence and structure. We really have to work for the goals in that game. We’re excited.
It’s always a little special to play against one of your former teams. Nykøbing is a team that likes to play at a high tempo, so we need to be very aware of their fast breaks and second-wave attacks. They are also very skilled when playing seven-against-six and can be patient in their attacking play, often building long attacks. For us, stopping their fast breaks will be crucial.
It will be a great challenge for us to play the finalist from last season, Györ, but we want to bring our own way of playing to the match and see how far that will take us. Anyhow, I am looking forward to a fun match in great surroundings.
An incredibly difficult task awaits us; we need to be tactically and physically prepared, and maintain high levels of concentration, to compete effectively in a match like this. Our focus is on delivering a high-quality performance — matching the level we showed during parts of the Györ game — and eliminating errors, especially the technical ones that plagued us previously.
The match against Metz is extremely difficult. We know we are facing the reigning Champions League winners. They are a team with incredible fast-break speed; if you make mistakes, you don't stand a chance. I don't think we're under pressure, but we need to be very focused if we want to have any chance at all.
