Gidsel decides thriller to return Berlin to Cologne

After Veszprém won the first leg 35:34, Berlin held the aggregate advantage for much of the match – but were only able to win 31:30, as the Hungarian club’s comeback forced the shoot-out. But two good saves by Dejan Milosavljev, and a final perfect penalty from Gidsel, gave Berlin their second ticket to Cologne in two years and their third in total.

In contrast, Veszprém have been eliminated in the quarter-finals for the fourth straight time.

The draw for TruckScout24 EHF FINAL4 2026 will take place on 12 May at 15:00, live on EHFTV and Home of Handball YouTube channel

QUARTER-FINALS, SECOND LEG

Füchse Berlin (GER) vs One Veszprém HC (HUN) 35:33 (17:15, 31:30)

H2H: 5-0-3
First leg result: 34:35, Berlin won 69:68 on aggregate
Top scorers: Mathias Gidsel 11/14 (Füchse Berlin), Ahmed Hesham 8/15 (One Veszprém HC)

• Berlin led 8:3 after only 10 minutes with a huge scoring percentage and a strong defence; after another 6:3 run, the German side took their one and only six-goal lead at 17:11
• everything changed after an injury to Veszprém centre back Luka Cindrić, followed by a suspension for Mijajlo Marsenić; Xavi Pascual’s team went on a 4:0 run before the break, followed by two more unanswered goals to level the match at 17:17
• while Berlin counted on their impressive back court duo of Gidsel and Lasse Andersson, Veszprém’s best weapons were their French wings Hugo Descat and Yanis Lenne, who combined for 13 goals
• although Füchse led by three goals twice late in the second half, Veszprém were virtually in Cologne four minutes before the end, when Ahmed Adel levelled the result at 29:29
• but when Dejan Milosavljev saved a penalty by Hugo Descat and Tobias Grøndahl scored his own seven-metre throw for 31:29 in the 59th minute, Berlin seemed to have the upper hand
• there was still more drama to come: Ahmed Hesham made it a level tie once more with 40 seconds on the clock before Gidsel missed his last attempt, Veszprém’s counterattack failed and Hesham’s direct free throw after the buzzer was blocked
• in the shoot-out, Milosavljev blocked Descat and Nedim Rémili failed, while Hákun West av Teigum was the only Füchse player who missed his penalty

Luck, coolness and precision decide the penalty lottery

After Berlin had won both group matches against the Hungarian record champions, they let two clear leads slip from their hands in the quarter-finals — five goals in the first leg, and six in the second leg on home ground.

In contrast to the group phase, when they lost seven of 14 matches, Veszprém fought like lions in the knock-out stage, starting with an incredible performance against Paris Saint-Germain in the play-offs, followed by the quarter-finals when they never gave up, regardless how big the deficit was.

But a penalty shoot-out is a lottery — luck, coolness and precision decide the outcome. After losing the 2024/25 quarter-finals by one buzzer-beating goal against SC Magdeburg in aggregate, history repeated for Veszprém. Berlin jumped for joy, and Mathias Gidsel is looking like he will defend his trophy as the EHF Champions League top scorer, leading the table with 144 goals.

Photos © Sylvia Goeres