Powerhouses aim for EHF FINAL4 spots in crunch quarter-finals
The EHF Champions League Women 2024/25 season is slowly approaching its peak — the EHF FINAL4 Women 2025 in MVM Dome in Budapest. This weekend will feature an all-French clash between Brest Bretagne Handball and Metz Handball, as well as a rematch of the 2023/24 season final between HB Ludwigsburg and Györi Audi ETO KC.
The highlight of the first leg quarter-finals action is the Match of the Week on Sunday between CSM Bucuresti and Team Esbjerg, as the two sides meet for the third time in four seasons. The schedule is completed by a crunch clash between FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria and Odense Håndbold.
Györ is the absolute top team in European handball. They have world-class players in every position. A lot of things have to go right for us, and little has to work for Györ, to pull off an upset on Saturday. We're looking forward to these kinds of matches and want to give it our all in front of our fans.
It will be a tough game starting away. They will look back at the last match and learn from it and maybe develop some things, so I don't think it will be as easy as the last game was. The defence will make a big difference: They play with good shooters, have a lot of physics, and can shoot from long distance. They also play with a lot of speed and want to run, so we should do the same and try to stop them.
We want to show a different side to the one we put on against Metz 10 days ago in the French Cup, especially at home in front of our home fans. We're back at the Brest Arena for this first leg and we'll be able to count on the support of our fans. We are going to try to learn from our two previous matches against Metz, in the league and in the cup, and come out on top.
It is the most important game of the season! I see a very balanced double, even though we play the second game away, which might be a small advantage for them but I strongly believe that if we manage to get a good result at home we will be able to put pressure on them for the away game. I really think that the odds are 50/50.
I think it will be an emotional game for me as it is the last home game in the EHF Champions League, but I am focused on the game as it is very important not only for me, but for the whole team and the whole club.
We have to stand strong in our defence. CSM Bucuresti have many players with tons of physique, power, and quality in their play, and a handful of them can do the extraordinary, so it is going to be a tough battle.
It is going to be a tough, but exciting game. We are going to give everything we have, and we hope we can hit them where they look vulnerable. But the most important thing is to keep the focus on ourselves.
It's going to be a tough week. Even if we win this match in Odense, even if we lose, we have to stay focused for two games. They are quite tough, they have really good players. They do a lot of one-against-one, so we need to be ready for this.
