17:18
Now a look at Aalborg's season, as the Danish club made it to their third EHF FINAL4, after reaching the final on both previous occasions.
In the 2021 final, Aalborg were defeated decisively by Barça. In 2024, they lost by just one to the Spanish powerhouse. Now Aalborg will meet none other than Barça in the semi-final on Saturday, hoping for a different outcome than their previous clashes with the record title winners in Cologne.
Like Berlin and the other two semi-finalists, Aalborg finished as one of the two top-ranked sides in their group and qualified directly for the quarter-finals, bypassing the play-offs. Aalborg's group phase record was 10 wins, one draw and three defeats, placing them second in group A, one point behind Berlin.
Also like Füchse, two of Aalborg's losses came near the end of the group phase — and one of them was against the German club, who were also responsible for Aalborg's first defeat, in round 2. The other loss was against the team Aalborg ultimately met in the quarter-finals, Sporting Clube de Portugal.
The quarter-final clash against Sporting was as close as it gets. Following a draw in the first leg, Aalborg won the second for an aggregate result of 68:67.
16:47
Two of the four semi-finalists have arrived at the team hotel in Cologne: Füchse Berlin and Aalborg Håndbold. Let's take a look at their journeys (back) to the TruckScout24 EHF FINAL4 2026, starting with Füchse.
Berlin had a very strong group phase early on — they did not drop a single point until round 10, when they lost to Kolstad Håndball, with the season's leading scorer Mathias Gidsel absent. Gidsel's absence should not be thought of as the only cause for the loss, as last season they beat HBC Nantes in the semi-final after Gidsel received a direct red card early in the game — they can certainly win, and win under pressure, without him.
Nevertheless, Gidsel was missing for Berlin's first loss of the Machineseeker EHF Champions League 2025/26. In the four subsequent rounds, Füchse were defeated twice, and in both Gidsel scored double digits — contributing to the enormous 144 season tally he brings to Cologne, which make him the top scorer of 2025/26 and all but confirmed to take the crown for the second time in a row.
Despite a shaky end to the group phase, Berlin finished first in group A and therefore proceeded directly to the quarter-finals. There, they met Veszprém in a very close encounter that saw a 69:68 result on aggregate. After the first leg saw a 35:34 win fo Veszprém on home ground, the aggregate score was equal at the end of regular time and penalties were required to decide the winners — Füchse.
So Füchse Berlin reached the EHF FINAL4 for the third time and second in a row. Their first participation was in 2011/12, and last year they made a return, reaching the final but ultimately losing to SC Magdeburg.
