SUMMARY: Flensburg, Füchse set up German duel for trophy in Hamburg
The last weekend of the EHF European League Men 2023/24 season has thrown off at Barclays Arena in Hamburg on Saturday. The EHF Finals Men 2024 opened with the first semi-final in which SG Flensburg-Handewitt defeated Dinamo Bucuresti 38:32, before Rhein-Neckar Löwen meet Füchse Berlin at 18:00 CEST for the second ticket to Sunday's final.
19:29 RESULT | Löwen vs Füchse 24:33 (9:14)
There is the confirmation: Füchse win by nine goals to set up a clash with Flensburg for this season's EHF European League title. What a prospect!
And Füchse do so with a record: 33:29 marks the biggest win ever at an EHF Finals event (since 2021), beating SL Benfica's 26:19 win over Orlen Wisla Plock from the 2022 edition.
19:22
So, Füchse will get a chance to defend their title from last year – in an all-German final against Flensburg. It will be the fifth all-German final of the EHF European League (or EHF Cup, as the second-tier competition was called until before 2020/21), and Füchse have been involved in all of them. However, they lost three of those four finals so far..:
- 2021: SC Magdeburg vs Füchse 28:25
- 2019: THW Kiel vs Füchse 26:22
- 2017: Frisch Auf Göppingen – Füchse 30:22
- 2015: Füchse - HSV 30:27
19:14
It looks like a 6:0 run for Füchse has done the damage, and this time irreparable. Füchse have been briefly in the lead by 10, and there is no way back from here as we head into the closing 10 minutes.
No surprise if Flensburg head coach Nicolej Krickau has already started his preparations on Füchse as the opponents in Sunday's final.
19:05
Team timeout Löwen. They are 22:15 behind now and Sebastian Hinze feels this could soon become mission impossible. Escpecially since their main shooters are missing too much: Juri Knorr has scored 7 from 13, Niclas Kirkeløkke only two from six.
19:01
Youngster Nils Lichtlein scores as Füchse reach the 20-goal mark, it is 20:15. Still 21 minutes left to play, but unless the defending would completely loose their way from here, it is hard to see Löwen making up this difference.
18:52
Get ready for the second half of Löwen against Füchse, as do the meanwhile 9,400 fans here in the stands of Barclays Arena!
18:38 HALF-TIME | Löwen vs Füchse 9:14
All of sudden the defending champions have stepped it up and again control over this second semi-final. Danish stars Hans Lindberg and Mathias Gidsel alone score just as many goals for Füchse as the entire Löwen team has produced: nine. And more than half of those nine come from Juri Knorr...
Löwen certainly need solutions after the break if they want to make this match as close as it has been expected by many.
18:31
Slowly but steadily, Füchse are getting on top in this duel for the second berth to Sunday's final. With four minutes left on the clock, they have opened a six-goal gap against Löwen, 14:8, also thanks to this piece of gallery play from Hans Lindberg. Special, indeed:
18:14
Official number: No less than 8,600 fans have found their way to Barclays Arena today for the semi-finals of the EHF Finals Men.
One of them hopes to leave the arena with a unique present..:
18:09
First eight minutes in the books and not much separating Löwen and Füchse yet. Löwen lead 4:3, with two Juri Knorr goals.
You can read the feature on him which EHF journalist Björn Pazen did yesterday here.
17:55
What when lions and foxes meet? Let's find out now! Löwen vs Füchse is live on EHFTV or on a local broadcaster in you region.
17:52
Even when there is so much at stake like at the EHF Finals, and even after a tough defeat, Dinamo show their class in today's press conference:
17:40
No time to waste as the second semi-final throws off in 20 minutes: Löwen or Füchse, who will earn the right to play Flensburg in the final on Sunday?
Here are some interesting facts about both teams:
17:28
If you want to hear what both teams had to say after the first semi-final, head over to our flash-quote service here on eurohandball.com.
17:18
Just in, here is the match review of Flensburg's convincing win in the first semi-final against Dinamo, written by Björn Pazen:
16:32 RESULT | Flensburg vs Dinamo 38:32 (18:11)
They have done it! Flensburg are back in a European final after 10 years, beating Dinamo 38:32 in match they has seen the German side never in danger from minute one. Emil Jakobsen with 11 from 11 and Johan Hansen with nine goals the best scorers; the competition top scorer Andrii Akimenko adds seven for Dinamo.
This result sets up an all-German final for Flensburg, against either Löwen or Füchse.
16:26
The gap is five with five minutes left after Lazar Kukic's shots surprises Kevin Møller, 33:28. Flensburg are really, really close to their first European final in 10 years now.
16:15
Just past the halfway mark of the second half and Flensburg go seven up again, 29:22. With under 14 minutes left this is more than a Carpathian Mountain to climb for Dinamo. Their shot efficiency has indeed improved, but the current 62 per cent is still far behind Flensburg's 81.
Flensburg's efficiency is best demonstrated by Emil Jakobsen, who is on a perfect nine from nine.
16:06
Flensburg have been leading this semi-final since the 38th second, and really never been looking back since. The difference now goes back and forth between five, six, seven goals as Dinamo are too good to be wiped away completely. But are they also good enough to bridge this gap?
15:56
The second half is on. The first goal goes to Dinamo thanks to Lazar Kukic (18:12), but will it be the starting point of the comeback they desperately need?
15:49
This half-time score gets the kind approval from the Flensburg social media team, who also praise their fans in the Barclays Arena for the "incredible atmosphere":
15:40 HALF-TIME | Flensburg vs Dinamo 18:11
Flensburg dominate from the throw-off and overcome a brief spell in which Dinamo reduce their deficit, but in the end of the first all signs seem green for an all-German final tomorrow. But stranger things have happened in handball, though the Romanian side need to work on their attack efficiency, which lags a staggering 30 per cent behind Flensburg's.
15:32
When everything goes your way, shots like those from Mads Mensah Larsen go in as well, for sure...
15:28
Xavi Pascual calling his first team timeout. Dinamo have dropped behind seven (15:8) at the 23 minute mark, so this is getting worrying for the Spanish coach and his ambitious Romanian side. Is there a way to turn this around?
15:24
This first semi-final dance has been going on for 20 minutes now and Flensburg lead 12:8. Their right wing Johan Hansen leads the scoring with three goals.
15:09
Flensburg have settled the quicker of the two teams, and as we reach the eight-minute mark, it is Kay Smits who puts the German side 7:4 up.
15:05
Positively remarkable to see Kay Smits starting for Flensburg. The Dutch international was out with a heart issue since last December, missed the Men's EHF EURO 2024 with the Netherlands, and only returned to training with the team a week ago. What impact can he have? At least another confidence boost for Flensburg.
15:01
Oh yes, we are off and running! The first semi-final here at Barclays Arena has begun.
38 seconds and Flensburg open the scoring at these EHF Finals though Mads Mensah Larsen, 1:0, just the fiery started promised by the opening ceremony:
14:50
Ten minutes left... a spectacular opening show and then we are rolling!
Remember you can watch it all live on EHFTV, or on you local or regional broadcaster. Enjoy!
14:41
Ten years after their EHF Champions League triumph, Flensburg have impressed this EHF European League season especially with their attacking play. It has been goals galore in most of their matches; just look at the main round when they won all four matches by at least a 10-goal difference. It is what their hashtag on social media says: no limits.
Or are Dinamo going to draw the red line for Flensburg this afternoon?
14:33
What a day for Xavi Pasual. He won over 60 trophies during his reign at Barça, and now in his third season with Dinamo, he has led the Romanian club to their first European semi-final in 20 years. Can they take the next step and upset Flensburg, the team that had to travel just 160 kilometres to get here?
Pascual said that qualifying for the EHF Finals has already been an honour and that Dinamo "will see" what happens at this "German cup" event... but don't get fooled here: they want to win this, period.
14:22
You can find the two teams on the official EHF match page. A quick scan of both lists learns that Dinamo's Luka Cindric is the most notable absentee this afternoon. The Croatian star, who was reunited this season with his former coach at Barça, Xavi Pascual, took part in the media call yesterday and is in the arena with the team, but apparently not fit enough to play.
14:00
One hour until throw-off! Let's have a closer look at both teams, Flensburg and Dinamo:
13:30
The two teams that get the action underway have arrived in the arena: Flensburg and Dinamo start their final preparations and warm-up ahead of the throw-off of the first semi-final at 15:00 CEST.
The teams have no long history of duels in European club competitions, as they only met each other two seasons ago – in the EHF Champions League, when Flensburg clearly won both duels by seven and eight goals, respectively. 
12:47
Before we dive into the two semi-finals today, let's have a quick look at the venue here in Hamburg. The court at Barclays Arena looks all fine as the finishing touches are given before the teams and the fans arrive. It is the third time the EHF Finals Men take place in Germany, but the first time in Hamburg – after Mannheim in 2021 and Flensburg in 2023.
The choice to opt for a neutral venue, so without one club having home advantage, has opened new opportunities for EHF Marketing, the marketing arm of the European Handball Federation and the entity behind the organisation of the EHF Finals, to attract fans and sponsors alike. And those efforts are bearing fruit:
