The third evening of the 2026 Euro Cup Group Stage was an action-packed and exciting affair, featuring numerous twists and turns across eight matches.
Four games were decided by a single goal, including one that concluded with a penalty shootout.
The match that ended with a penalty shootout was the Greek derby, whereVouliagmeni secured an away victory over Panathinaikos, 17:16 (10:10), in Group C.
Jug triumphed over Solaris, 12:10, in the Croatian derby (Group A)
The Romanian clubs had a disappointing day, as both teams lost narrowly to favored Italian opponents. Steaua suffered an 11:10 defeat to Savona in Group D, while Trieste edged Dinamo Bucharest 17:16 in a closely contested match in Group B.
Barcelona overcame an early three-goal deficit to beat Szolnok 14:10 in Hungary, in one of the crucial games in Group B.
2026 Euro Cup, Group Stage, Round 3
GROUP A
Jug – Solaris 12:10 (4:1, 3:2, 3:5, 2:2)
Jug: Pavlic 4, Susic 3, Jerkovic 2, Mozara 1, Krzic 1, Zuvela 1.
Solaris:Brajkovic 3,Vlahovic 2, Bajic 1, Cubranic 1, Pelicaric 1, Mijic 1, Fajkovic 1.
Terrassa – ASC Duisburg 14:13 (3:1, 5:1, 2:6, 4:5)
Terrassa:Sabadell 3, Ten Broek 3, Bargallo 3, Bruce Scott 2, Alarcon 1, Blasco 1.
ASC Duisburg: Seifert 7, Metten 4, Gergelyfi 1, Gemalmazoglu 1.
The defenses were dominant in the early stages of the Croatian derby in Dubrovnik. Solaris’ Pelicaric scored the first goal in the 4th minute, but that goal “woke up” Jug’s attackers, who then went on a 5:0 run to take a 5:1 lead by the 9th minute. The hosts maintained a four-goal advantage until the end of the first half, with a score of 7:4, and it seemed they would secure an easy victory. However, Solaris did not give up. In the first five and a half minutes of the second half, the visitors scored four consecutive goals, leveling the game at 7:7. Meanwhile, their goalkeeper saved a penalty shot from Vlaho Pavlic. Jug responded strongly with a 3:0 series in just 81 seconds, for a 10:7. While Solaris managed to narrow the deficit to one goal (10-9 and 10-11), Maro Susic ultimately sealed Jug’s victory with a goal scored while they had an extra player, leaving 2 minutes and 35 seconds remaining in the match.
Terrassa dominated the first half of the game against ASC Duisburg. The Spaniards led 3:0 and 6:1, and entered the third quarter with an 8:2 advantage. But, ASC Duisburg, led by Sasha Seifert, refused to surrender and managed to catch up with the favorite during the fourth quarter, leveling at 11:11, 12:12, and 13:13. Immediately after each of the three equalizers, Terrassa regained the lead. Sabadell scored his third goal to bring the score to 14:13 with 2 minutes and 4 seconds left on the clock. The Spaniards managed to hold on to their slim lead until the end of the match, securing three points.
Standings: 1. Jug 9, 2. Terrassa 6, 3. Solaris 3, 4. ASC Duisburg 0.
GROUP B
Szolnok – Barcelona 10:14 (2:0, 2:4, 1:6, 5:4)
Szolnok: Cseh 3, Kovacs 2, Krasznai 2, Zernivary 1, Vamosi 1, Bedo 1.
Barcelona:Daura 4, Ramon 3, Paul 2, Van der Weijden 2, Watanabe 1, Goma 1, Velkov 1.
Trieste – Dinamo 17:16 (4:4, 5:2, 3:7, 5:3)
Trieste: Draskovic 4, Cagalj 4, Podgornik 3, Marziali 3, Manzi 2, Mezzarobba 1.
Dinamo Bucharest: Prioteasa 6, Lutescu 4, Chikovani 2, Radu 1, Negus 1, Vranceanu 1, Dragomir 1,
A three-horse race for the top two spots in Group B has become quite interesting. On Day 1, Trieste convincingly defeated Barcelona at home but then suffered a loss in an away game against Szolnok. This evening, Szolnok faced Barcelona in front of its home fans, but the Hungarians fell short. Now, all three teams are tied in points.
Szolnok began the match against Barcelona with a 3:0 early lead, which gave the impression they might extend their winning streak. However, Barcelona responded with a strong 10:2 run, leading 10:5 as they entered the fourth period. Szolnok managed to narrow the gap to three goals on several occasions in the final quarter, but Barcelona regained control
The match in Trieste turned into a thrilling contest. Dinamo initially shocked the hosts and the favorites by taking a 3:1 lead. Halfway through the second period, Trieste took the lead when Vuk Draskovic converted a penalty, putting them ahead 6:5. By the middle break, the Italians had built a 3-goal advantage, leading 9:6. Yet, Dinamo was not done yet. The Romanians regained the lead in the closing moments of a high-scoring third quarter, going up 12:11 and then 13:12. The home team responded fiercely, scoring four unanswered goals in the first four minutes of the fourth period for 16:13. Still, Dinamo fought back and came very close, finishing at 16:17, but the visitors were unable to equalize.
Standings: 1. Trieste 6, 2. Barcelona 6, 3. Szolnok 6, 4. Dinamo 0.
GROUP C
Panathinaikos – Vouliagmeni 16:17 (5:6, 2:2, 2:1, 1:1, PSO 6:7)
Panathinaikos: Gkiouvetsis 4, Chalyvopoulos 1, Papanikolaou 1, Chatzigoulas 1, Papasifakis 1, Kopelaidis 1, Banicevic 1.
Vouliagmeni:Chatzis 4, Te Riele 2, Angelopoulos 1, Kastrinakis 1, Spachits 1, Giannatos 1.
Buducnost – BVSC 8:18 (3:4, 2:6, 3:5, 0:3)
Buducnost: Stevovic 3, Brguljan 2, Petrovic 2, Radulovic 1.
BVSC:Shushiashvil 5, Ekler 3, Tatrai 2, Csacsovszky 2, Csapo 1, Szeghalmi 1, Kovacs 1, Bundschuh 1, Divjak 1, Simon 1.
Vouliagmeni has established itself as a team adept at penalty shootouts in the Euro Cup. The second-best Greek club secured a victory against Trieste and lost to Crvena Zvezda in the games decided by shootouts in the qualifications. In the first round of the Group Stage, Vouliagmeni triumphed over BVSC in another penalty thriller, and today, they repeated their success in the Greek derby.
The match was tightly contested, with the score tied at every number from 1 to 10. Neither team could gain a two-goal advantage, and there were numerous lead changes throughout the game. Vouliagmeni held an 8:7 lead at halftime after Semir Spachits scored just five seconds before the big break. The second half saw only four goals scored. Panathinaikos managed to take a 9:8 lead, but Vouliagmeni responded with two consecutive goals, making it 10-9 in their favor. Gkiouvetsis then equalized for Panathinaikos at 10:10 with a 6-on-5 conversion. With more than six minutes remaining, neither team could break through the solid defenses, leading to a penalty shootout after the match ended in a tie.
Seven rounds of penalties were needed to decide the winner. In the first six rounds, all shots were successful. However, Vouliagmeni’s goalkeeper, Andreadis, saved a shot from Gkiouvetsis, and Troulos found the back of the net at the other end of the pool, securing victory for Vouliagmeni.
In Podgorica, Buducnost scored the first two goals in the game, but BVSC replied with four within 03:12 minutes for a 4:2 lead and dictated the pace until the very end.
Standings: 1. Vouliagmeni 7, 2. BVSC 7, 3. Panathinaikos 4, 4. Buducnost 0.
GROUP D
Steaua – Savona 10:11 (3:4, 1:4, 4:1, 2:2)
Steaua:Vucinic 2, Antipa 2, Iudean 2, Georgescu 1, Piriianu 1, Tepelus 1, Jaukovic 1.
Savona:Leinweber 4, Figlioli 3, Brui 2, Damonte 1, Occhione 1.
Sabac – Spandau 04 11:8 (3:2, 4:1, 1:1, 3:4)
Sabac: Gavrilovic 3, Macic 3, Barac 2, Novakovic 1, Moracanin 1, Stojanovic 1.
Spandau 04: Nagy 3, Hofmann 2, Culina 2, Chiru 1,
Savona extended its winning streak in the Euro Cup, but it had to dig deep to beat the Romanians in a game that saw both teams experience ups and downs. Late into the second period, the hosts led 3:2. However, they stopped then, allowing Savona to produce a 5:0 run and take a 7:3 lead. Still, Steaua was able to come back and to equalize twice in the fourth quarter (9:9 and 10:10). In the 29th minute, young Hungarian Oliver Leinweber scored from a counterattack for 11:10. Unfortunately for Steaua, there were no further goals.
Spandau quickly established a 2:0 lead within the first 3 minutes and 15 seconds of the game in Sabac. However, the hosts’ defense was outstanding after conceding those two early goals. Their attack also rose to the occasion. Between the 4th and 13th minutes, the hosts scored six unanswered goals, turning a 0:2 deficit into a 6:2 lead, which ultimately determined the course of the match. By halftime, Sabac led 7:3. There was a long interval in the third quarter with no goals. Ognjen Stojanovic then extended Sabac’s lead to 8:3 just 52 seconds before the end of the period. Chiru quickly responded with a goal, but Spandau had no way back into the game.
Standings: 1. Savona 9, 2. Sabac 6, 3. Spandau 3, 4. Steaua 0.
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