Füchse Berlin beat Magdeburg in a goal fest and secured the EHF Champions League final in Cologne
Füchse Berlin qualified for the EHF Champions League final after defeating SC Magdeburg 40:35 in the first semifinal of the final tournament in Cologne. The match was played on June 13, 2026, at LANXESS Arena, in Cologne in the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia, and the European Handball Federation states that the encounter was part of the TruckScout24 EHF FINAL4 2026, the finale of the 2025/26 season in Europe’s strongest club competition. For Berlin, the victory brought a second consecutive chance to win the European championship title, while Magdeburg, the defending champion and winner of the 2025 final, was left without the possibility of defending the trophy in a direct battle for first place.
According to the official EHF report, the duel between Magdeburg and Füchse was a rematch of the previous season’s final, but with the opposite outcome. In 2025, Magdeburg beat Berlin 32:26 in the final match and won the third title in the club’s history, while this time the team from the German capital took the initiative in the key moments of the semifinal and secured a new final. The 40:35 result reflects the highly attacking nature of the match, in which the defenses and goalkeepers were under great pressure for a long time, while the tempo of play remained high for almost the entire 60 minutes.
In its report, the EHF highlighted that the match, with a total of 75 goals, equaled the record for the number of goals scored in regular time at the men’s EHF FINAL4 tournament. The same total number of goals had previously been recorded in 2019 in the third-place match between Barcelona and Kielce, which also ended with a 40:35 score. In addition, the organizer announced that the semifinal in front of 20,122 spectators set a new attendance record for the TruckScout24 EHF FINAL4 tournament, further confirming the status of the finale in Cologne as one of the central events of European handball.
High tempo from the start and a narrow Berlin lead at the break
The encounter opened at a very high rhythm, with as many as 17 goals in the first 15 minutes, according to the match description published by the EHF. Berlin was the first to create a more noticeable gap, and after a little more than a quarter of an hour of play, it reached a two-goal lead. During that period, Füchse’s attack was led by Mathias Gidsel and Lasse Andersson, while goalkeeper Lasse Ludwig recorded several important saves that helped Berlin maintain the advantage in a phase of the match in which goals were coming almost from attack to attack.
Magdeburg, despite the deficit, did not fall apart in its defensive organization, nor did it allow Berlin to decide the match early. Bennet Wiegert’s team had enough attacking solutions, primarily through its most experienced back-court players, but it could not take control of the tempo. Toward the end of the first half, Berlin increased its lead to three goals, and Tim Freihöfer, according to the official EHF report, scored his fourth goal just before the break. Still, Magdeburg reduced the deficit by halftime, so the scoreboard showed 17:19.
Already after the first 30 minutes, the match showed that it was not only an attacking evening, but also a psychological contest between two teams that know each other very well. Magdeburg celebrated against Berlin in the final at the end of the previous season, and the German duel in Cologne also had a strong competitive context because of the domestic rivalry. According to the dpa agency report published by WELT, Berlin used transition and quick ball movement especially well in the first half, while Magdeburg searched for a way to stabilize its defense and slow down the opponent’s attacks.
Magdeburg came back, but could not withstand the final surge
After the break, the rhythm did not drop significantly. According to the EHF, Füchse moved four goals ahead at the start of the second half in the 34th minute, which looked like the moment when Berlin could completely take over the match. Magdeburg then reacted like a team that had gained great experience in the highest-pressure matches in recent seasons. The defending champion began reducing the deficit goal by goal, and according to the dpa report, equalized at 29:29 in the 44th minute.
A period followed in which it seemed the match could turn in Magdeburg’s favor. The German champion, as dpa called it in the report, took a 32:31 lead in the 48th minute, which was also one of the most important psychological moments of the semifinal. Berlin could then have lost the rhythm and confidence it had been building from the start of the match, but Nicolej Krickau’s team remained calm. The EHF states that in the 50th minute it was still completely uncertain who would reach the final, but the closing phase went Füchse’s way.
The key turnaround happened in the final ten minutes or so, when goalkeeper Dejan Milosavljev, although he had not had his most dominant evening for most of the match, stopped several important Magdeburg shots. The EHF specifically singled out his saves against Matthias Musche and Felix Claar in the closing stages, and also stated that the Serbian goalkeeper did not concede a goal for ten minutes in the decisive part of the match. Berlin used that to produce a run that turned an even match into a secure lead, and two minutes before the end the difference had grown to five goals.
In its report, dpa states that Berlin led 36:33 in the 55th minute and then pulled further away to 38:33 three minutes before the end. At that point the match was practically decided, although Magdeburg kept looking for a way to reduce the deficit until the final attack. The final 40:35 confirmed that Füchse had played one of the most important matches in the club’s recent history, while Magdeburg, for the first time after several major European successes, remained outside the title fight on the final day.
Gidsel and Magnússon top scorers, Milosavljev decisive in the closing stages
Berlin’s most efficient player was Mathias Gidsel with nine goals from 12 attempts, the EHF announced in the official match statistics. The Danish right back has for some time been one of the central names in European handball, and the EHF page with his profile states that in the 2025/26 season he scored 153 goals for Füchse Berlin in the Champions League. His role in the semifinal was not only as a finisher: throughout a large part of the match, he was the player around whom Berlin’s attack was organized, and his pressure on Magdeburg’s defense opened space for his teammates as well.
On Magdeburg’s side, the top scorer was Ómar Ingi Magnússon, also with nine goals, with the EHF recording a 9/11 performance. His efficiency was one of the reasons why Magdeburg managed to come back from the deficit and briefly take the lead in the second half. Still, in the closing stages of the match, Berlin had more available solutions in form and a more stable final response. Alongside Gidsel, Lasse Andersson and Tim Freihöfer played important roles in attack, and the EHF report also emphasized Lasse Ludwig’s contribution in the first half.
According to the EHF, Milosavljev played a role in the final minutes that changed the closing course of the match. His saves stopped Magdeburg’s comeback wave and allowed Berlin to finish attacks without the constant pressure of an equalizer. The EHF report also recorded the unusual detail that Milosavljev scored a goal in the final minute, further confirming the victory. Such an ending further strengthened the symbolism of the match for the goalkeeper who, according to the EHF, is leaving the club at the end of the season and is chasing one last major trophy with Füchse.
Revenge for last year’s final and a new chance for a European title
Berlin’s victory carries special weight because it came against the same team that had taken the title from them in the final a year earlier. The EHF report on the 2025 final states that Magdeburg then won 32:26, with a dominant performance by goalkeeper Sergey Hernández and an inspired Gísli Kristjánsson. With that triumph, Magdeburg won the third European championship title in its history, after the titles in 2002 and 2023, while Berlin was left without its first trophy in the most prestigious European club competition.
This year’s semifinal changed the narrative. In front of a full arena in Cologne, Berlin showed that it can withstand the pressure of the defending champion and respond in the toughest part of the match. According to a statement by Max Darj carried by the EHF, the Füchse players especially wanted another chance at the trophy after losing last year’s final. The EHF also carried the reaction of Magdeburg goalkeeper Sergey Hernández, who after the match admitted that Berlin had been slightly better that evening, while noting that defeat was not the outcome Magdeburg had expected.
For Berlin, reaching the final is the continuation of a season in which the club established itself as a candidate for the very top of Europe. Füchse had already earlier built the identity of a team with quick ball circulation, strong transition and heavy reliance on Gidsel, but the semifinal against Magdeburg also showed the importance of squad depth. When the defending champion took the lead in the second half, Berlin did not depend on one move, but won the closing phase with a combination of goalkeeping saves, patient attack and precise finishing.
Final against Barcelona and the fight for Füchse’s first title
According to the official EHF schedule, Füchse Berlin will play Barcelona in the final on June 14, 2026, at 18:00 at LANXESS Arena. The Catalan club secured the final with a 37:32 victory over Aalborg Håndbold after extra time, which the EHF mentioned in its summary of the semifinal day. Barcelona enters the finale as the club with the richest history in the EHF Champions League, while Berlin is chasing its first title in that competition. Such a relationship between tradition and challenger gives the final additional weight, especially after Füchse reached the threshold of the most important European trophy for the second year in a row.
Magdeburg will, according to the final tournament schedule, play the third-place match against Aalborg at 15:00. For the defending champion, that is a significantly different end to the weekend from the one planned, but also an opportunity to end the European season with a victory. After the semifinal, dpa carried a statement by Felix Claar according to which Magdeburg has no other choice than to try to win third place, while admitting that Saturday was Berlin’s day. Such a reaction fits the impression of a match in which Magdeburg did not play badly, but did not have enough answers to the opponent’s final surge.
LANXESS Arena once again confirmed its role as the traditional home of the EHF Champions League finale. According to information published on the arena’s official website, the Final4 has been held in Cologne every year since 2010, and the 2026 edition was organized on June 13 and 14. In its previews, the EHF describes the finale as the decisive weekend of the season, in which the four best teams seek the new European champion. After a semifinal in which Berlin knocked down the defending champion, the final day in Cologne brings the battle for third place and a final in which Füchse has the chance to win the most important European club handball trophy for the first time.
Sources:
- EHF Champions League – official report on the SC Magdeburg – Füchse Berlin 35:40 semifinal and match statistics (link)
- EHF Champions League – official information and schedule for TruckScout24 EHF FINAL4 2026 in Cologne (link)
- EHF Champions League – summary of the semifinal day of the 2025/26 finale and final-day schedule (link)
- EHF – Mathias Gidsel profile and statistics in European competitions (link)
- EHF Champions League – report on the 2025 final between Füchse Berlin and SC Magdeburg (link)
- WELT / dpa – dpa agency report on Füchse Berlin reaching the Champions League final (link)
- LANXESS arena – official information on the TruckScout24 EHF FINAL4 2026 event in Cologne (link)