There were several close encounters in the first round of the 2026 Euro Cup, but one derby quickly turned into a one-sided contest.
Trieste and Barcelona faced off in one of the day’s highlights. The teams were initially neck-and-neck in the opening minutes. But, in the second period, Trieste dominated. The Italians led 13:7 at halftime and eventually secured a 20:16 victory.
The other Italian club, Savona, a three-time Euro Cup winner, defeated Spandau 04 in Berlin with a score of 16:15, despite trailing by four goals in the first quarter.
One match was decided only after a penalty shootout; Vouliagmeni earned two points against BVSC Budapest, winning 20:19 after an 11:11 draw.
In Bucharest, a single goal separated the rivals even though Szolnok led throughout the game against Dinamo. The Hungarians barely saved three points, winning 16:15.
Jug, Solaris, Panathinaikos, and Sabac also began the season with home victories.
2026 Euro Cup, Round 1
GROUP A
Jug – Terrassa 16:12 (4:1, 3:4, 5:3, 4:4)
Jug : Susic 4, Pavlic 3, Mozara 2, Buslje 2, Zivela 2, Jokovic 1, Herceg 1, Jerkovic 1.
Terrassa: Bargallo 5, Ten Broek 2, Sabadell 1, Scott 1, Cuacos 1, Vlasco 1, Teclas 1.
Jug dominated in the opening minutes, taking a 4:0 and 6:2 lead in the first half. But, Terrassa halved its deficit before the middle break to 5:7. Mozara gave Jug a 3-goal lead early in the third period. Still, Bargallo replied with two quick goals and reduced the gap to 7:8. That was a “wake-up alarm” for the hosts, who netted four consecutive goals to jump to 12:7 in the 23rd minute. After that, their win wasn’t in danger.
Solaris – ASC Duisburg 15:10 (2:3, 5:5, 5:0, 3:2)
Solaris: Zvono 4, Mijic 3, Cubranic 2, Vlahovic 2, Pelicaric 1, Bulat 1, Akrap 1, Bajic 1.
ASC Duisburg: Simic 3, Seifert 3, Halb 1, Dolff 1, Gemalmazoglu , Metten 1.
ASC Duisburg, which is considered an underdog in Group A, stunned Solaris in the first half. The Germans led 2:0 in the first quarter, and had a 5:2 advantage early in the second period. The hosts leveled only in the 15th minute, when Niko Cubranic scored an action goal for 7:7. Still,52 seconds before the middle break, Kerem Gemalmazoglu put ASC Dusiburg in front once again – 8:7. However, Solaris ruled the field in the third period, which proved vital for the Croats’ win.
GROUP B
Trieste – Barcelona 20:16 (6:5, 7:2, 4:5, 3:4)
Trieste: Mezzarobba 5, Draskovic 5, Manzi 4, Petronio 2, Marziali 2, Podgornik 1, P. faraglia 1.
Barcelona: Daura 4, Prat 3, Van der Weijden 3, Watanabe 2, Goma 2, Ramon 1, Paul 1.
One of the derbies of Round 1 was decided already in the first half.
Trieste began one of the Round 1 derbies with a commanding 3:0 lead. However, Barceloneta managed to catch up with the hosts twice in the first quarter, leveling the score at 4:4 and then at 5:5. Just five seconds before the end of the first quarter, Mezzaroba scored to put Trieste ahead. In the second quarter, Trieste maintained their momentum, scoring three consecutive goals. By the 11th minute, they had extended their lead to 9:5. While Barcelona made efforts to close the gap, they only managed to reduce the deficit to three goals on two occasions (at 6:9 and 7:10). Ultimately, the Spaniards found themselves trailing by six goals at halftime. Vuk Draskovic capped off a strong half for Trieste by scoring the hosts’ 13th goal with a remarkable long-distance backhand shot, just two seconds before the end of the half, bringing the score to 13:7.
Barcclona was a better rival in the second half, but didn’t significantly reduced the gap, as Trieste controlled the match.
Dinamo B – Szolnok 15:16 (4:7, 4:3, 3:4, 4:2)
Dinamo Bucharest: Lutescu 5, Prioteasa 4, Chikovani 2, Mekshi 1, Radu 1, Cojocariu 1.
Szolnok: Zernivary 4, Krasznai , Kovacs 2, Bedo 2, Simon 1, Schmolcz 1, Vamosi 1, B. Szabo 1, Teleki 1, Zeman 1.
Szolnok didn’t shine, but it earned an away victory in Bucharest. The Hungarians quickly established a 4:0 lead. They held back all Dinamo’s comeback attempts during the first three quarters. The Romanians narrowed the distance to two goals several times during the first 24 minutes, but they couldn’t come closer. But they were persistent and continued chasing the visitors. In the middle of the fourth period, they finally cut the deficit to one – Prioteasa converted a man-up for 14:15. Immediately, Vamosi doubled Szolnok’s advantage. Two minutes and five seconds before the end, Lutescu added his fifth goal in the match, and only a goal separated the rivals again. However, Szolnok kept a minimal advantage in the last two minutes.
Vouliagmeni – BVSC 20:19 (1:3, 2:2, 5:5, 3:1, PSO 9:8)
Vouliagmeni: Te Riele 6, Chatzis 2, Spachits 2, Troulos 1.
BVSC: Batizi 5, Tatrai 3, Shushiashvili 1, B.Ekler 1, Meszatos 1.
For the third consecutive time, a Euro Cup match involving Vouliagmeni went to a penalty shootout. Two weeks ago, the Greeks lost to Crvena Zvezda and defeated Trieste in shootouts at the qualification tournament. Today, they secured two points against BVSC. The Hungarians led 4:1 in the 10th minute. Vouliagmeni was able to come back and went ahead twice in the third period (7:6 and 8:7). After the hosts’ eighth goal, BVSC netted three within 72 seconds and entered the final quarter leading 10:8.
Midway through the fourth quarter, BVSC was still two steps ahead of Vouliagmeni (11:9). Still, the Greeks managed to catch up with the Budapest-based side. Troulos scored an equalizer for 11:11 with 24 seconds to go. Vouliagmeni earned two points after nine rounds of penalty shots. In the 9th round, the hosts’ goalkeeper Andreadis saved a shot from Shushiashvili.
Panathinaikos – Buducnost 16:8 (4:2, 4:1, 4:4, 4:1)
Panathinaikos:Gkiouvetsis 5, Papasifakis 3, Banicevic 3, Skoumpakis 2, Chalyvopoulos 1, Papanikolaou 1, Chazigoulas 1.
Buducnost Podgorica:Da. Brguljan 4, Boskovic 2, Stevovic 2.
Panathinaikos, which was very active in this summer’s transfer market, controlled the match against Buducnost, a debutant on the European stage. The Greeks established a 3:0 lead in the first four minutes. At halftime, the “Green-Whites” led 8:3 and maintained that difference throughout the third period and didn’t let Buducnost come back into the game.
GROUP D
Spandau – Savona 15:16 (4:3, 2:2, 4:6, 5:5)
Spandau 04:Nagy 3, Caraj 3, Hofmann 2, Tkac 2, Kojic 2, Stamm 2, Culina 1.
Savona: Bruni 5, Figlioli 4, Leinweber 3, Occhione 2, Gullotta 1,A. Condemi 1.
Spandau got off to a flying start. After 03:17 minutes, they already had a 4:0 advantage. However, Savona recovered quickly. The Italians scored the last three goals in the first quarter and added one at the beginning of the second, so the sides were tied at 4:4 in the 10th minute. In the following minutes, Savona chased the Berliners. Spandau built a 2-goal lead twice in the middle two quarters (6:4 and 9:7). However, the finish of the third period belonged to Savona. The visitors scored four straight goals in the last three and a half minutes of this quarter. Young Hungarian Oliver Leinweber made it 11:9 with an extra player 21 seconds before the last break, but Culina replied immediately, also with a man-up, and Spandau trailed 10:11 before the final period.
Savona broke the hosts in the middle of the fourth quarter, producing a 3:0 run in 02:15 minutes. Veteran Figlioli opened the series from a six on five. Gullotta added another power-play goal. Three minutes before the final buzzer, Occhione found the net from a close-range shot to make it 14:10. But Spandau didn’t give in. They came very close to the rival with 36 seconds remaining, when Caraj narrowed the distance to 14:15. In the following possession, Figlioli sealed Savona’s win with his 4th goal. Spandau scored a consolation goal in the dying seconds.
Sabac – Steaua 11:9 (4:3, 2:2, 2:1, 3:3)
Sabac: Stojanovic 4, Macic 3, Barac 2, Gavrilovic 1.
Steaua: Vucinic 3, Georgescu 2, Jaukovic 2, Iudean 1, Fulea 1.
Steaua took the lead only once in the match, scoring their first goal just 25 seconds into play. However, Sabac quickly turned the one-goal deficit into a 2:1 lead. The game remained competitive until the final quarter. Steaua managed to equalize at 2:2, 3:3, and 5:5. Just 18 seconds before the halftime break, center-forward Gavrilovic gave Sabac a new lead at 6:5.
The hosts, led by Ognjen Stojanovic, extended their margin to three goals by the middle of the third period, making it 8:5. Despite this, Steaua fought back diligently, but Sabac’s defense held strong. In the 28th minute, Sabac again went ahead by three goals, at 9:6, but Steaua quickly reduced the deficit to one goal on their next possession.
At 2:46 remaining, Djordje Vucinic, who had played for Sabac a few years ago, scored during a man-up situation to narrow the gap to 8:9. Shortly after, the visitors had an opportunity to equalize with an extra player, but they missed the chance and paid for it. Aljosa Macic then scored for Sabac, bringing the score to 10:8 with 1:33 left in the match. In the remainder of the game, both teams exchanged goals, but Steaua did not get another chance to equalize.
