Fight for Last 16 berths goes down to the wire
Six teams progressing to the EHF European Cup Women 2023/24 Last 16 have already been named, but 10 spots are still up for grabs.
In an action-packed weekend, 13 matches — three double-headers and seven second-leg encounters — will be held to complete the line-up of the next stage.
- five teams reached the Last 16 following their wins in double-headers last week: Sport Lisboa e Benfica and Madeira Andebol SAD (both Portugal), ATTICGO Bm Elche (Spain), ZRK Mlinotest Ajdovscina (Slovenia) and Jomi Salerno (Italy)
- Turkish side Ankara Yenimahalle BSK also went through, as their matches with Maccabi Haarazim Ramat Gan were cancelled due to the situation in Israel
- 2022 European Cup winners Rocasa Gran Canaria from Spain also have one foot in the next round after a 34:23 home win against ZRK Drugo Selo '55, with the return leg to be played in Croatia on Saturday
- also in Croatia and on the same day, ZRK Bjelovar will try to hit back after a 30:27 defeat at JK Slovan Dusno Sala (SVK)
- SSD Handball Erice ARL (Italy) and ZRK Izola (Slovenia) are the only teams to meet on Friday, and their second-leg encounter will be held on Sunday, also on Italy
Reigning champions hope to stay in fight
Konyaalti BSK, who won the title last season, are obviously determined to go far again, but so far they cannot even be certain of reaching the Last 16.
At home, the Turkish side defeated KH-7 BM. Granollers, but by just two goals (29:27), so now the Spanish side will be looking for a home revenge, as the rivals are set to face off again on Saturday.
