Spandau is the first team to secure the top spot in its group of the Euro Cup qualifications. The Germans, who convincingly defeated ZV De Zaan today, on the 2nd day of the qualifications, secured the top spot in Group A in Athens, thus advancing to the Group Stage.
The group winners and the three best 2nd-placed teams will qualify for the Group Stage.
Nine clubs enter the final day with realistic or only theoretical chances to earn the tickets to the group stage and join Spandau. All teams that have already won six points will very likely advance: Trieste, Steaua, Solaris, Terrassa, and Szolnok.They all have good goal differences. Besides these five, Apollon Smyrnis Sport Management (Group A), Vouliagmeni, and Crvena Zvezda (Group B) are still competing for a spot in the group stage.
There were several interesting games, and a lot of twists and turns in today’s matches. The most exciting was an encounter between Crvena Zvezda and Vouliagmeni in a very balanced group in Montpellier. Crvena Zvezda defeated the Greeks after a penalty shootout, 17:16.
2025/26 Euro Cup, Qualifications, Day 1
GROUP A (ATHENS)
Spandau 04 – ZV De Zaan 21:9 (6:4, 5:1, 7:2, 3:2)
Spandau 04:Kojic 4, Hofmann 3, Stamm 3, Andruskiewicz 2, Tkac 2, Chiru 2, Culina 2, Sekulic 1, Caraj 1, M.Nagy 1.
ZV De Zaan:Rempt 2, Meijn 2, Ketelaars 1, Haasnoot 1, Garancsy 1, Van den Dobbelsteen 1, Bucevic 1.
Apollon – Sport Management 14:12 (2:4, 6:2, 2:4, 4:2)
Apollon: Daube 4, Bogdanovic 3, Solanakis 3, Laskaridis 2, Papas 1, Gardikas 1.
Sport Management:Alekseev 5, Rogac 3, Matchavariani 1, Vuksanovic 1, Jakhaia 1, Saric 1.
After yesterday’s crucial victory over Apollon Smyrnis, Spandau didn’t miss its first chance to secure 1st place in the group and a ticket to the Euro Cup Group Stage. The Berliners easily beat ZV De Zaan. The Germans started strongly, taking a 4:0 lead in the first four minutes. The Dutch halved the deficit to 4:6 and 5:7. However, Spandau responded with a 6:0 run, jumped to 13:5 and killed all the suspense.
Apollon collected three points against Sport Management after overcoming an early deficit. The Georgians built a 2-goal lead in the first quarter (3:1, 4:2). The hosts found their rhythm in the second period. In the 14th minute, Apollon earned an 8:5 advantage. Sport Management cut the deficit (7:8). The Greeks rebuilt a 3-goal lead midway through the third quarter (10:7). However, Sport Management managed to come back and catch up with Apollon before the last break (10:10). Apollon earned a 12:10 lead after two minutes of play in the fourth period and controlled the game until the final buzzer.
Standings: 1. Spandau 6 (+16), 2. Apollon Smyrnis 3 (-2), 3. Sport Management 2 (-2), 4. ZV De Zaan 0 (-12).
October 5: Spandau – Sport Management (10:00 – CET), Apollon – De Zaan (12:00)
GROUP B (MONTPELLIER)
Vouliagmeni – Crvena Zvezda 16:17 (4:3, 3:3, 2:2, 2:3, PSO 5:6)
Vouliagmeni: Chatzis 3, Kastrinakis 3, Troulos 2, Ubovic 1, Te Riele 1.
Crvena Zvezda: Pjesivac 3, M.Radovic 2, Vasic 2, Markovic 1, Petkovic 1, Sulc 1, Gak 1.
Montpellier – Trieste 13:23 (5:5, 2:6, 2:5, 4:7)
Montpellier: Krekovic 2, Vix 2, Spillaert 2, Pal Antal 2, Stojanovic 2, Agrefilo 1, Mustur 1, Ben Romdhame 1.
Trieste: V. Draskovic 8, Marziali 4, Podgornik 2, P. Faraglia 2, Liprandi 2, Mezzarobba 2, Razzi 1, Petronio 1,
After narrowly losing to Trieste on Day 1 with a score of 11:12, Crvena Zvezda played another thrilling match. This time, the Serbs managed to secure two points with a penalty shootout win over Vouliagmeni, keeping their chances of qualifying alive. Crvena Zvezda began the game by scoring the first goal, but Vouliagmeni quickly responded with two goals of their own. Deep into the first period, the Greeks extended their lead to 4:2. Early in the second period, the Belgrade-based team leveled the score at 4:4. However, the Greeks regained the advantage, leading to a long exchange of goals throughout the match. Crvena Zvezda managed to equalize five times, but each time, Vouliagmeni quickly regained a narrow lead, finishing the third quarter ahead 9:8.
The Serbs opened the fourth period with two goals to go ahead, 10:9. The Greeks fought back, scoring twice more to take the lead for the last time at 11:10. Pjesivac equalized with 40 seconds left on the clock (11:11), sending the match into a shootout. Crvena Zvezda ultimately achieved victory in the shootout after six rounds of shots. However, it’s questionable if two points will be enough to send the Belgrade team to the group stage, even if it finishes in 2nd place at the tournament in Montpellier. In contrast, Vouliagmeni could finish atop this group.
Trieste defeated Montpellier and secured at least 2nd place in the group. However, the hosts caused trouble for the Italian favorite in the first 16 minutes, despite Trieste scoring the first two goals of the game. Montpellier went ahead in the dying minutes of the first period (4:3 and 5:4), and Trieste equalized on both occasions. Shortly after the first break, Montpellier established a 7:5 lead. However, Trieste then imposed its rhythm. The Italians went on a 7:0 run between the 10th and 17th minutes and earned a comfortable 12:7 advantage. There was no way back for Montpellier.
Standings: 1. Trieste 6 (+11), 2. Vouliagmeni 4 (+14), 3. Crvena Zvezda 2 (-1), 4. Montpellier 0 (-24)
October 5: Vouliagmeni – Trieste (10:00), Montpellier (12:00)
GROUP C (SIBENIK)
Dinamo T – Steaua 8:14 (0:3, 2:3, 2:4, 4:4)
Dinamo Tbilisi: Tkeshelashvili 2, Draskovic 2, Dzikhtsiarenka 1, Bucan 1, Magrakvelidze 1, Mtchedlishvili 1.
Steaua: Vucinic 4, Georgescu 3, Tepelus 3, Nematu 2, Iudean 1, Jaunkovic 1.
Solaris – Rapid 21:14 (5:4, 4:3, 5:3, 7:4)
Solaris: Cubranic 7, Koprcina 5, Zvono 2, Vlahovic 2, Pelicaric 2, Bajic 1, Mijic 1, Sparada 1.
Rapid Bucharest: Goreta 3, Vrbnjak 3 Kovats 2, Giga 2, Mihai 2, Dragomirescu 1.
Steaua took a flying start in the match against Dinamo, taking a 5:0 lead in the first 11 minutes, which determined the rest of the game. Dinamo never came close to the Romanians, who had a 7-goal advantage several times.
Solaris defeated Rapid by a margin of seven goals, but it needed some time to secure a convincing victory. The Romanians initially took a 1:0 lead and managed to equalize the score twice, at 2:2 and 4:4. Just three seconds before the end of the first quarter, Zvono scored, giving Solaris a 5:4 lead. From that moment on, the Croats stayed in the lead, but Rapid continued to chase them down. Three minutes before the end of the third quarter, Rapid closed the gap to two goals at 10:12. In response, Solaris went on a 3:0 run, establishing a 15:10 lead and breaking the Romanians’ resistance.
Standings: 1. Steaua 6 (+15), 2. Solaris 6 (+10), 3. Dinamo 0 (-9), 4. Rapid 0 (-16)
October 5: Dinamo – Rapid (10:30), Solaris – Steaua (12:30)
GROUP D (TERRASSA)
Szolnok – OSC Potsdam 14:10 (2:5, 4:2, 4:2, 4:1)
Szolnok: Zernivary 2, Krasznai 2, Vamosi 2, Szabo 2, Kakstedter 1, Simon 1, Schmolcz 1, Cseh 1, Zeman 1.
OSC Potsdam: Hofmann 3, Taubert 2, Kugler 1, Arnold 1, Burger 1, Ulrich 1.
Terrassa – Pays d’Aix 13:8 (2:3, 4:1, 4:2, 3:2)
Terrassa: Cuacos 3, Pericas 2, Bargallo 2, M.Teclas 2, Sabadell 1, Scott 1, Alarcon 1, Blasco 1.
Pays d’Aix: Braise Fernandez 3, Yutmaz 2, Ogihara 2, Lena 1.
The favorites collected points on Day 2, but they didn’t achieve convincing wins, which many had expected after both Terrassa and Szolnok demolished their rivals the previous day.
The young team of OSC Potsdam stunned Szolnok with a 5:2 first quarter. The Hungarians equalized at 5:5 midway through the second period. However, the Germans replied with two goals to earn a 7:5 advantage. OSC maintained a 2-goal lead until 9:7. Deep into the third period, Szolnok finally took control. After OSC’s ninth goal, the Hungarians netted three in a row by the end of the third quarter and went ahead for the first time – 10:9. After the last break, Szolnok added three more goals for a comfortable 13:9 advantage.
Terrassa started slowly, like Szolnok. Pays d’Aix had a 2:0 and 3:2 lead in the first period. Early in the second quarter, Terrassa went ahead 4:3. Late into the first half, the French equalized, but the hosts netted two goals in the last 40 seconds of the second period for 6:4. Step by step, the Spaniards increased the margin to five.
Pays d’Aix became the first club eliminated from the European cups this season. It failed to qualify for the Euro Cup, but it doesn’t have the right to continue the season in the Conference Cup, as it participated in the Champions League qualifications.
Standings: 1. Terrassa 6 (+20), 2. Szolnok 6 (+17), 3. Pays d’Aix 0 (-18), 4. OSC Potsdam 0 (-19).
October 5: Pays d’Aix – OSC Potsdam (11:00), Terrassa – Szolnok (13:00)
