After a (too) long group phase, the handball Champions League finally enters its decisive phase with direct elimination matches. Two French clubs are still in the competition: Nantes and PSG.
Before hoping to reach the Final Four in Cologne, where they have not been since 2023 and even before thinking about the quarter-finals, PSG must overcome a dangerous obstacle.
Fourth in their group (6W, 7L) after a difficult autumn, PSG cannot avoid an additional hurdle. The European federation calls it a “playoff”. It’s actually an 8th final against the 5th team from the other group. It could have been Nantes, but it’s Veszprem, which is not a gift. The only good news is that PSG has the advantage of playing at home and a return match on their own turf.
Veszprem is the team that PSG has faced the most in the Champions League: already 18 matches with a Hungarian advantage of 9 wins, 1 draw, and 8 losses. The last defeat dates back to February 2025 in the capital (33-37).
Veszprem is counting on three French players in their squad to finally achieve their goal: former PSG player Nedim Remili, former player from Créteil Hugo Descat, and former Montpellier Yanis Lenne. They also have Spanish goalkeeper Rodrigo Corrales, who played for PSG between 2016 and 2020 and will return next season. The team is coached by another Spaniard, a reference: Xavier Pascual, the former mentor of FC Barcelona.
Before the return match on April 9th at Coubertin, PSG’s mission in Hungary does not seem easy. The venue where they play on April 1st is one of the most fervent in the world. The 5000 seats at the Veszprem Arena sold out in seconds. Parisians will have to resist this popular pressure.
A defeat of this magnitude would condemn PSG to watch the rest of the Champions League from afar even before the return match.
However, it is not an option at this point. Since the international break and the Euro, PSG has improved significantly, as shown by their unbeaten record in the championship and a convincing victory against Magdeburg, the defending champions in the Champions League (34-26).
If PSG wants to remain a top team in European handball, they have no choice but to pass this hurdle to avoid the disappointment they experienced a year ago. A second setback in a row before the quarter-finals is not acceptable. In Hungary, Stefan Madsen’s team must impose themselves or at least limit the damage before the return match.
If things go well, it will be time to think about another major challenge: a duel against Berlin in the quarter-final. But that’s another story.
The Veszprem vs. PSG playoff match will be broadcast live on Eurosport on April 1st starting at 6:45 PM. At 8:45 PM, Nantes will play against the Danish team GOG.
