All participating teams in the 2025/26 Champions League have been confirmed today on Day 2 of the qualification tournaments. However, the composition of the groups will be finalized tomorrow, as the final standings for each of the three qualification tournaments will be determined after tomorrow’s derby matches.
Novi Beograd, Primorac, Sabadell, Vasas, Mladost, and Brescia advanced to the Champions League Group Stage, joining the 10 national champions that are directly qualified.
Novi Beograd and Primorac were relentless against their rivals in the games held in Group A in Belgrade, with Novi Beograd knocking out Steaua and Primorac defeating Pays d’Aix. 17:8
Once again, the most exciting game of the day took place in Group B in Sabadell. The home team, Sabadell, narrowly defeated Spandau 12:11 and will face Vasas tomorrow in a match that will determine which of these two teams will advance to the Group Stage from 1st place in the tournament.
In Group C in Zagreb, the home team and the favorite, Mladost, triumphed over Vouliagmeni with a 12-goal margin (16:4), ensuring that both the hosts and Brescia, which defeated the Greeks yesterday, will compete in the Champions League.
2025/26 Champions League Qualifications, Day 2
GROUP A (BELGRADE)
Novi Beograd – Steaua 20:6 (7:0, 3:2, 5:2, 5:2)
Novi Beograd: Pljevancic 3, Cuk 3, Trtovic 3, Jankovic 2, Dj. Radovic 2, Perkovic 2, Lukic 2, Gladovic 1, Dimitrijevic 1, Martinovic 1.
Steaua: Georgescu 1, Fulea 1, Vucinic 1, Fenech 1, Oanta 1, Tepelus 1.
Luka Gladovic (NBG) Photo by VK Novi Beograd
This evening, Novi Beograd continued from where it stopped yesterday. After a 23:10 victory over Pays d’Aix, the hosts ran over Steaua. As they did yesterday, they secured a huge lead in the early stages of the game. Almost every one of Novi Beograd’s possessions in the first quarter ended with a goal, so the Serbs had a 7:0 lead at the first break. Lukic and Pljevancic opened the second period with goals, so by the 10th minute, Novi Beograd was already 9:0 up. Steaua got on the scoreboard only in the 11th minute. After a 10:2 first half, the remaining 16 minutes were formality, but Novi Beograd played with no downs and recorded a more convincing victory than yesterday.
Primorac – Pays d’Aix 17:8 (5:2, 3:1, 3:3, 6:2)
Primorac: Inaba 3, Mrsic 3, Vuckovic 3, Stanojevic 2, S. Cetkovic 1, Vidovic 1, Vico 1.
Pays d’Aix: Beteille 4, Ogihara 2, Yutmaz 1, Lena 1.
Primorac got off to a very good start, building an early 4:1 lead, which set the tone of the match. Midway through the second period, the Montenegrins stretched the margin to five (7:2) and maintained that difference until the end of the third period.
Primorac’s veteran Drasko Brguljan in front of Pays d’Aix’s defense Photo by VK Novi Beograd
Primorac didn’t slow until the very end. Balsa Vuckovic scored the last goal in the match just a second before the end to seal his team’s 17:9 victory.
Standings: 1. Novi Beograd 6, 2. Primorac 6, 3. Steaua 0, 4. Pays d’Aix 0.
September 21: Steaua – Pays d’Aix (12:30), Novi Beograd – Primorac (19:30)
GROUP B (SABADELL)
Sabadell – Spandau 04 12:11 (4:3, 2:1, 4:4, 2:3)
Sabadell: Penarai 2, Barroso 2, Canabas 2, Vergara 2, Asensio 1, Averka 1, Perez 1, Larsen 1.
Spandau 04: Stamm 4, M.Nagy 3, Bauer 1, Chiru 1, Caraj 1, Culina 1.
Sabadell qualified for the Champions League and will battle for the top spot in the group against Vasas tomorrow. Spandau 04 has what to regret. The Berliners played quite well in Sabadell, but suffered two narrow losses to Vasas and Sabadell and won’t play in the Champions League this season.
Spandau had a better start and took a 1-goal lead thrice (1:0, 2:1, 3:2). Just 18 seconds before the first break, world champion Sergi Cabanas gave Sabadell the first lead in the match (4:3). In the middle of the match, Sabadell built a 4-goal lead and held back Spandau’s comeback attempts.
Kanstantin Averka (Sabadell) Photo by Víctor Castillo
Canabas closed the second quarter, just as a previous one, scoring just two seconds before the buzzer to make it 6:4. Shortly after the middle break, Averka and Barrosso added a goal each and the Spaniards went to 8:4. However, the hosts had to work hard to keep an advantage, as Spandau quickly narrowed the deficit to 7:8. Sabadell responded with two goals – 10:7- and maintained a 3-goal lead until 12:9. Perez scored the 12th goal for Sabadell with five minutes left on the clock. Sabadell didn’t score any further goals, but its defense, with an excellent goalkeeper Edoardo Lorrio, was up to the task. Spandau didn’t surrender. At 00:38, veteran Marko Stamm found the net for 11:12 and kept his team’s hopes alive for a short time. The Germans attempted to steal the ball in Sabadell’s final possession, playing pressing defense. However, 18 seconds before the end, Marek Tkac committed a personal foul. Sabadell kept the ball in the remaining time and the contest was over.
Standings: 1. Vasas 3 (1 game), 2. Sabadell 3 (1), 3. Spandau 04 0 (2)
September 21: Sabadell – Vasas (12:30)
GROUP C (ZAGREB)
Mladost – Vouliagmeni 16:4 (3:1, 6:2, 3:1, 4:0)
Mladost: Basic 4, Loncar 4, Kharkov 2, Tonicic Buljubasic 1, Bukic 1, Nagaev 1, Vrlic 1, Vukicevic 1.
Vouliagmeni: Chatzis 1, Kastrinakis 1, Spachits 1, Giannatos 1.
The very experienced team of Mladost was too strong for Vouliagmeni in its premiere this season.
Andrija Basic Photo by Toni Franic/HAVK Mladost
The home side, composed of many medal winners, let Vouliagmeni equalize only once – in the 4th minute (1:1). Two minutes later, Ivan Buljibasic kicked off Mladost’s 5:0 run. In the 12th minute, the Croats already had a 6:1 lead. Vouliagmeni, which has nine juniors (U20 players) on the roster, started recovering from an early shock, so Mladost’s advantage didn’t increase significantly in the following few minutes. But, in the second half, the hosts continued dominating and sank Vouliagmeni.
Standings: 1. Mladost 3 (1), 2. Brescia 3 (1), 3. Vouliagmeni 0 (2).
September 21: Mladost – Brescia (19:00)
Group Stage, groups
The Champions League Group Stage will begin on October 14/15.
Group A: Olympiacos (GRE), Radnicki (SRB), Winner of QR Gr. B, Winner of QR Gr.C.
Group B: Pro Recco (ITA), Jadran Split (CRO), Jadran Herceg Novi (MNE), 2nd-placed of QR Gr. A.
Group C: Ferencvaros (HUN), Oradea (ROU), Winner of QR Group A, 2nd-placed of QR Gr. C.
Group D: Barceloneta (ESP), Marseille (FRA), Waspo 98 Hannover (GER), 2nd-placed of QR Gr. B.
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