Kiel broke Montpellier in a dramatic finish and secured the EHF European League final in Hamburg
THW Kiel secured a place in the EHF European League Men final after a 29:28 victory against Montpellier Handball in the first semi-final of the Winamax EHF Finals 2026 final tournament in Hamburg. The match was played on 30 May 2026 at Barclays Arena, and the German club reached the final after one of the tensest finishes of the season. According to the official report of the European Handball Federation, Kiel led 15:12 at half-time, then lost the advantage after the break, before coming back in the closing stages and surviving the French team’s final attack. The decisive goal was scored by Swedish back player Eric Johansson, while goalkeeper Andreas Wolff locked up the match with a double save in the final seconds. Montpellier had a chance to force extra time, but failed to capitalise on the last attack, allowing Kiel to secure Sunday’s final against MT Melsungen.
The match carried extra weight because the same teams had also met at the final tournament of the previous season, also in Hamburg. In its preview and report, the EHF recalled that Montpellier eliminated Kiel in 2025 with a goal in the very closing stages, while this time the final blow belonged to the German side. Kiel thus avenged last year’s defeat and remained in the fight for a European trophy in a season in which the EHF European League final tournament had become its key chance for a title. Montpellier, on the other hand, after another tight duel, was left without a final and on 31 May will play the third-place match against SG Flensburg-Handewitt, the defending title holder, who was beaten by Melsungen 37:30 in the second semi-final.
Wolff’s final save decided the semi-final
According to the official EHF report, Kiel reached victory after coach Filip Jicha took the final timeout 31 seconds before the end, with the score at 28:28. After the agreement on the bench, Johansson took responsibility and scored for 29:28. Montpellier had enough time for the final attack, but Wolff stopped two attempts by the French team and prevented the equaliser. That double intervention was the final detail of a match in which momentum, nerves and tactical risk shifted on both sides.
Wolff finished the match with 13 saves, according to data published by the EHF, and some of them came in the most sensitive moments. Particularly important were the saved seven-metre throws and the final double reaction, because Montpellier lived for much of the second half off the energy of its defence and the good goalkeeping interventions of Rémi Desbonnet. Croatian reports stated that Desbonnet collected 17 saves, which says enough about how much the match was marked by goalkeepers, missed clear chances and the pressure of the final tournament. In such a rhythm, one goal or one save was enough to decide the finalist.
After the match, the EHF conveyed Wolff’s assessment that Kiel showed a strong mentality in the closing stages and that the duel had a different outcome than a year earlier. The goalkeeper also pointed out that the team had trained scenarios involving seven-metre throws and end-game situations, which proved crucial because Montpellier missed a large number of penalty shots during the match. According to official EHF data, the French team missed six of eight seven-metre throws, while Kiel left three of four unused. In a match that ended by a one-goal margin, that statistic explains why Montpellier, despite its comeback and heavy pressure after the break, was left without a final.
Kiel opened better, Montpellier came back after the break
The start of the match was cautious and low-scoring, which, according to reports by the EHF and the German agency dpa, reflected the weight of the semi-final. Both teams had problems with finishing, and seven-metre throws became one of the key motifs of the match from the first minutes. Kiel’s Lukas Zerbe hit the goal frame from a seven-metre throw, while Montpellier’s Kylian Villeminot also failed to convert a penalty shot, hitting the post once and running into Wolff the second time. Only midway through the first half did Kiel establish a rhythm, relying on a solid defence, support from the fans and better play on the line.
The German side first pulled away more noticeably in the 21st minute, when Lukas Laube, in a situation with one player fewer, scored for 12:8. Shortly afterwards, the lead grew to 15:10, and Wolff already had a series of saves in the first half that kept Montpellier behind. The teams went to the break with Kiel leading 15:12, which left the French team enough room for a comeback, but also showed that Montpellier had to improve its attacking efficiency. In its report, the EHF stated that Kiel controlled the middle part of the first half during that period, while both teams made a large number of technical errors.
The second half brought a completely different picture. Montpellier raised its defence, Desbonnet strung together important saves, and Kiel scored only three goals in the first 11 minutes of the second half. The French club equalised at 16:16 in the 37th minute, and then David Balaguer, with two quick goals, brought Montpellier into a 20:18 lead in the 41st minute. At that moment it seemed that Érick Mathé’s team had taken control and that the scenario from the previous season could be repeated, when Kiel was left without a final after a dramatic ending.
Jicha’s decision to play seven against six brought Kiel back
Kiel did not stay in decline for long. Coach Filip Jicha opted for a seven-on-six attack, and that tactical change helped the German club re-establish ball flow and force more favourable shooting positions. According to the EHF report, three consecutive goals by Magnus Landin, two Wolff saves from seven-metre throws and another goal by Johansson turned the rhythm of the match around and brought Kiel into a 24:21 lead. That part of the match showed how unstable the semi-final was: Montpellier turned the match around in a short period, but failed to hold the advantage when Kiel increased its defensive aggression and took on greater risk in attack.
After the match, according to the EHF’s official statements, Jicha assessed that it was a typical final-tournament semi-final, with many emotions, nerves, technical errors and battles. He stressed that Kiel profited in the first half from pivot play, good defence and Wolff’s saves, but also that Montpellier responded with pressure as expected after the break. He particularly pointed out that Kiel played for ten minutes with one player fewer, which made controlling the match additionally difficult against a team such as Montpellier. His assessment well describes a semi-final in which neither team had enough stability to close the match earlier.
Montpellier also had its period in the closing stages. Kiel missed several chances to increase the advantage, and the French team used the mistakes and came back to 28:28 in the 58th minute. At that moment the match was completely open, with the possibility of extra time if there was no winner after 60 minutes. The final-tournament rules provide for extra time in the semi-finals and final in the event of a draw, and only after that seven-metre throws, but it did not come to that. Johansson’s last goal and Wolff’s final save decided the winner before additional time.
Johansson and Balaguer top scorers of the match
Eric Johansson was Kiel’s top scorer with six goals, according to the official EHF statistics. His performance was particularly important because it was not only the most prominent numerically, but also included the decisive goal for the final. For Kiel, according to the Hina report published in Croatian sports media, Magnus Landin, Lukas Laube and Veron Načinović each added four goals. The Croatian pivot thereby made an important contribution in a match in which Kiel often sought solutions through the six-metre line and in which play with the pivots was one of the foundations of the advantage in the first half.
On the opposite side, the top scorer was David Balaguer with eight goals from 13 attempts. His two quick goals in the second half were the most important moment of Montpellier’s turnaround, and through him the French team most easily reached goals when Kiel’s defence after the break lost the firmness it had shown in the first half. According to the Croatian report, Arthur Lenne and Valentin Porte each added four goals, while Zvonimir Srna scored three. Montpellier thus had several players in good form, but its overall efficiency was decisively damaged by a weak performance from the seven-metre line.
In the statements after the match from the Montpellier camp, the prevailing assessment was that small details decided it. Coach Érick Mathé, according to the EHF, emphasised his team’s character and the comeback after a difficult rhythm of matches in a week in which Montpellier also played domestic competitions. Valentin Porte particularly pointed to the six missed seven-metre throws as too heavy a burden for a match of this level. Benjamin Richert gave a similar assessment, stressing that Desbonnet had many saves, but that the other side missed too many chances for the result to go in favour of the French team.
Načinović important in Kiel’s progress, Srna among Montpellier scorers
The match also had a pronounced Croatian handball context. Veron Načinović scored four goals for Kiel and was among the important players in the attacking structure of the German side. The EHF conveyed his assessment that the matches against Montpellier in the previous and this season were very similar in terms of drama and that the ending decided it again this time. Načinović highlighted Kiel’s good first half, Montpellier’s strong comeback and the importance of the goalkeepers in the final minutes. His role especially came to the fore in phases when Kiel looked for safer positions on the line and tried to reduce the number of risky outside shots.
On the other side, Zvonimir Srna scored three goals for Montpellier, according to the Hina report. His contribution was not enough for the French club to secure the final again, but it was part of the attacking breadth that brought Montpellier back into the match after the deficit from the first half. Montpellier looked more aggressive in the second half, punished Kiel’s mistakes faster and managed to take the lead. Still, the finish again showed how important the conversion of the simplest situations is at final tournaments. In such matches, seven-metre throws, fast breaks and clear chances carry greater weight than in a long league season.
Domagoj Duvnjak, Kiel’s captain, according to Hina’s report, especially thanked Andreas Wolff for his performance after the match. Although he was not among the scorers who marked the statistics, his role in leading the team remained important in a match with a lot of nerves and changes of rhythm. Kiel had to keep calm in the key moments, especially after Montpellier turned the match around after the break and led by two goals. It was precisely the experience of players such as Duvnjak that was important so that the team would not fall apart in the phase when the French side was closest to another final.
Hamburg once again the centre of the EHF European League final stage
The Winamax EHF Finals 2026 are being held on 30 and 31 May at Barclays Arena in Hamburg, according to official information from the EHF and IHF. The final tournament brings together four teams that decide the title in the EHF European League Men 2025/26, Europe’s second-tier club competition. The participants of this year’s final weekend were THW Kiel, Montpellier Handball, MT Melsungen and SG Flensburg-Handewitt. In Saturday’s semi-finals, Kiel defeated Montpellier 29:28, and Melsungen beat Flensburg 37:30, which secured an all-German final.
In its official information, the EHF stated that the third-place match between Montpellier and Flensburg will be played on 31 May at 15:00 Central European Time, while the final between Kiel and Melsungen is scheduled for 18:00. This means that the title will again go to Germany, and in its preview of the final day the EHF emphasised that the EHF European League will get a new name on the list of winners since the introduction of the competition in its current format in 2020/21. Melsungen has never won an EHF trophy, while Kiel is a multiple European champion and winner of the EHF Cup, but is playing the final of the EHF European League Men itself for the first time.
The broader context further increases the importance of the final. According to the EHF, the winner of the final tournament can secure a place in the EHF Champions League 2026/27, depending on the outcome of the Champions League final tournament and the status of Füchse Berlin. For Kiel, who last played a European final when they won the EHF Champions League in 2020, this is an opportunity to return among European trophy winners. For Melsungen, a club that finished fourth at the same tournament the previous season, the final represents the biggest international step forward in club history. Because of that, Kiel’s victory over Montpellier is more than progression into one match for a trophy: it opened the way to a final that has sporting, prestige and competitive weight for both German teams.
Montpellier left without reward after a great comeback
Montpellier will remember the semi-final as a match in which it showed character, but did not use enough chances. After trailing 12:15 at half-time, the French side came back to 16:16, then led 20:18 and forced Kiel to change its system of play. Desbonnet’s saves and Balaguer’s finishing gave Montpellier a real chance for the final, and the comeback to 28:28 two minutes before the end showed that the team had not given up even after another Kiel escape. Still, six missed seven-metre throws, the final unused attack and Wolff’s performance remained the decisive details.
For Kiel, the victory is confirmation of the ability to survive a match in which it did not have complete control. The team had a good first half, then a serious drop, followed by a tactical answer and final composure. In one-ball endings, such a sequence often decides the difference between the final and the third-place match. This time Kiel found the solution through Johansson in attack and Wolff in goal, while Montpellier lacked one more conversion. That is why Kiel and Melsungen will fight for the title on 31 May in Hamburg, while Montpellier will try to finish the tournament with a victory against Flensburg.
Sources:
- EHF European League – official report on THW Kiel’s victory against Montpellier Handball in the semi-final of the Winamax EHF Finals 2026 (link)
- EHF European League – official information on the final tournament, schedule, venue and semi-final results (link)
- EHF European League – official statements by players and coaches after the semi-final matches on 30 May 2026 (link)
- EHF European League – preview of the final day and context of the THW Kiel – MT Melsungen final (link)
- International Handball Federation – overview of the EHF Finals Men 2026 event, participants and match schedule (link)
- Sportske novosti / Hina – report with Croatian context, scorers and reactions after the match (link)
- Die Welt / dpa – report on the course of the match, half-time and key moments of the finish (link)