The play-offs of the Women’s Champions League are just around the corner. Ola Selby of GoHandball has ranked the 12 remaining teams in the competition.
Four teams: Metz Handball, Györi Audi ETO KC, FTC, and Team Esbjerg are directly qualified for the Champions League quarterfinals.
The other eight teams that advanced from the main round will compete in the playoffs to determine which four teams will join them in the quarterfinals.
Ola Selby of GoHandball has ranked the twelve remaining teams in the Power rankings – a ranking based on how the teams have performed so far during the Champions League season.
The matches in the play-offs:
HC Podravka Vegeta – Brest Bretagne
CS Rapid Bucuresti – CSM Bucuresti
HB Ludwigsburg – Krim Mercator
Storhamar Handball – Odense Håndbold
1: Györi Audi ETO KC
They took home the title in the Champions League last season, and much suggests they will defend the title this year, although the competition, especially from a couple of teams, is fierce.
Györi won twelve out of 14 matches in the group stage and only lost one, at home to Odense (this was just a couple of weeks after they only managed a draw against Buducnost).
Otherwise, Györi has looked incredibly strong, especially defensively, where goalkeepers Sandra Toft and Hatadou Sako have both been sharp. And with players like Dione Housheer, Estelle Nze Minko, Bruna de Paula, and Kari Brattset Dale, it’s no surprise that Györi is doing well. They have the best squad and have, after all, looked the strongest so far.
2: Metz Handball
Györi’s strongest challenger, and the team that, along with the Hungarian powerhouse, has been the best during the group stage, comes from France. More specifically, Metz. Not a single loss so far and only one points drop (away against Storhamar in the opener). After that, 13 straight wins. And most notably, a 24–19 victory at home against their biggest group rival, FTC, and a solid 26–23 win away in Hungary.
What has Metz done so well? Everything. And it’s not surprising with players like Chole Valentini, Laura Flippes, Lucie Granier, Lena Grandveau, and Sarah Bouktit (all French national team players) on the team. Plus, Petra Vamos, a lively dynamo at the center back position.
Metz could very well take home the gold this year, but it will be a tough battle.
3: Team Esbjerg
Team Esbjerg has a very high top level in their game, and based on what they have performed in the group stage, they have the potential to win the Champions League. However, as a team, they haven’t been as strong as either Györi or Metz, and perhaps not even as strong as FTC.
So why do I rank Esbjerg as the third-best team so far? I think everyone understands that. But it’s clearly about the world’s best player, Henny Reistad. The Norwegian leads the top scorer list with 122 goals, 22 goals ahead of second-place Elizabeth Omoregie. Additionally, Reistad is third in the assist rankings.
Reistad must perform at her best if Tomas Axnér’s team is to make it to the final. Other key factors for Esbjerg? Anna Kristensen in goal, who has continued to play at a high level since the European Championship. And “the other” players must step up and not place all the responsibility on Reistad.
4: FTC
No team was better at defense during the group stage than FTC. At least not in their group. Their only two losses came against unbeaten Metz; otherwise, FTC went undefeated.
Against the group’s third-best team, CSM Bucuresti, FTC won 28–26 away and 27–24 at home. They weren’t clearly better according to those scores, but in my opinion, they are still significantly stronger than CSM.
Which players have been the best for FTC? Daria Dmitrieva is a great new signing from Krim, and the Russian has delivered right away. Additionally, the “usual suspects” in Katrin Klujber and Petra Simon have been key to the offense, while Laura Glauser has been a reliable force between the posts.
5: Odense Håndbold
Odense won nine matches (I’m excluding the walkover victory against Vipers) during the group stage and lost four. The losses came against Esbjerg twice, Vipers, and Györi at home. So, a strong team.
On the other hand, Odense managed to convincingly defeat Györi away in Hungary. And in attack, Odense was the best team in the group, no doubt about it. Versatile Thale Rushfeldt Dalia was really great, and together with Helena Elver and Mie Höjlund, the trio forms a feared combination at the back court.
Let’s not forget that Odense brought in Katrine Lunde when Vipers went bankrupt. There we have a potential match-winner when the stakes are high in the big games.
6: CSM București
How do you beat CSM Bucuresti? By limiting, though as we know, it’s impossible to completely stop Cristina Neagu. But wait a minute, is this a text written in 2015? No, but the living legend is still CSM’s most important player. How about fourth place in the top scorer list and second place in the assist rankings after the group stage? Truly impressive.
However, as a team, CSM is very inconsistent. Nine wins is good, but they earned zero points against the top teams Metz and FTC. So, there are questions about how they will fare against the best teams.
Also important to mention? Elizabeth Omoregie, like Neagu, can score against any team.
7: HB Ludwigsburg
Ludwigsburg had a great run in the Champions League last season and surprised almost everyone when they took silver after losing to Györi in the final. They knocked out Ikast, Odense, and Metz on their way to the final, but this year they haven’t impressed as much.
Six wins, one draw, and seven losses was their record in the group stage. A big reason for their somewhat shaky performance is that they struggled significantly against the better teams.
However, there are positive aspects that might hint at another surprise this year: They managed to take points away against Esbjerg and win away against Brest. And Johanna Bundsen has saved more shots than any other goalkeeper in the Champions League this season, along with a high save percentage.
8: Brest Bretagne
Is Anna Vyakhireva having fun playing handball in the 2024-25 season? I’m not so sure. The small right back is still one of the best players in the world, but she hasn’t played at the same level as she did last season.
Brest started the season in the Champions League strong, winning their first four matches and five of their first six. But after that, they completely stalled, and the French powerhouse won only one more match in the final eight rounds (a victory that came against a weak Rapid Bucuresti).
However, there is quality in the team beyond Vyakhireva: Clarissa Mairot has been important in the back court, and the French duo of Pauletta Foppa (unfortunately injured a lot) and Meline Nocandy are players who know what they’re capable of.
9: Krim Mercator
It’s been a bumpy ride following Krim’s journey in the Champions League this season, but try to keep up! They won four straight matches at the start, then lost seven in a row before finishing unbeaten in the last three (two wins and one loss).
A lot of it revolves around Ana Gros, who is sixth in the top scorer list, and the skilled centre back Tamara Horacek. Don’t forget Tatjana Brnovic, who has developed nicely offensively after previously being known mostly as a tough defender. And last but certainly not least, Jovanka Radicevic. The legend can still deliver.
10: HC Podravka Vegeta
Photo: Michael Erichsen / BILDBYRÅN
Podravka’s record in the group stage? Five wins, one draw, and eight losses. Not too bad, really, considering they are still fairly new at this level.
If we take a more negative angle, it’s easy to point out that the five wins came against teams that finished lower in the standings. The positive angle? It’s thanks to those five wins that they ended up ahead of teams that, on paper, may have stronger squads.
But with players like Matea Pletikosic (60 goals and 69 assists in the group stage), it’s no surprise that Podravka made it through.
11: Storhamar Håndball
Given that Storhamar started by earning points against Metz (Metz’s only points drop!), many probably expected big things from them. Since then, Storhamar has come back down to earth a bit. But they won against NFH, they won against CS Gloria, and they also defeated Krim at home in a tight battle (Storhamar won that match 29–28).
However, there’s no doubt that they are one of the weaker teams to have advanced from the group stage. Much of their play revolves around Anniken Obaidli at centre back. The Norwegian scored 66 goals in the group stage, just one goal ahead of their second-best scorer, Mathilde Rivas-Toft.
12: Rapid București
Let’s be honest and acknowledge that Rapid wouldn’t have made it to the playoffs if it hadn’t been for Vipers going bankrupt. They only won one match (aside from the walkover win against Vipers), and that came against Buducnost in the first round all the way back in September.
Sure, they drew two matches after that, but going winless in the tournament since September is not a good sign.
The team’s best and most important players? Albertina Kassoma and Andjela Janjusevic.