Metz toppled Györ in Budapest and won the EHF Champions League Women for the first time
Metz Handball won the first European champion title in the club’s history after defeating Györi Audi ETO KC 31:29 on 7 June 2026 in the final of the EHF Champions League Women at Budapest’s MVM Dome arena. According to the official report of the European Handball Federation, the French club became the first representative of France to lift the women’s EHF Champions League trophy, and the victory ended the dominance of Györ, the reigning champion and the most successful club of the final tournaments in recent years. The final was played in front of 20,022 spectators, which, according to the EHF, equalled the world attendance record for a women’s club handball match set at the same event in 2023.
The match had all the elements of a great final: a strong start by Györ, Metz’s response before the break, the French escape midway through the second half and Hungarian pressure in the closing stages. Metz went into half-time with a minimal 18:17 lead, even though Györ had periods of a three-goal advantage in the first half. The decisive period proved to be the one in which the French team stopped the opponents’ attack and gradually took control of the rhythm, and the EHF states that Györ remained without a goal from the 25th minute until the end of the first half. In the continuation, Metz moved six goals ahead in the 46th minute, after which it defended the surge of the Hungarian side and closed the most important evening in the club’s history.
Bouktit marked the final and took the MVP award
The central figure of the final was Sarah Bouktit, Metz’s line player, who, according to EHF data, scored 12 goals from 15 attempts and was chosen as the most valuable player of the Raiffeisen Bank EHF FINAL4 2026 final. Bouktit already had nine goals from 12 shots in the first half, including the goal with which Metz turned the score to 18:17 in the final moments of the first period. Her play on the line was a constant problem for Györ’s defence, and the forced reactions of the defence opened up space for the back line and wings of the French side.
In its report, the EHF pointed out that Bouktit scored a total of 20 goals throughout the weekend, eight in the semi-final and 12 in the final, giving Metz the kind of contribution needed to win the final tournament. Her efficiency was especially important in moments when Györ tried to regain control of the match through firmer contact and faster returns to defence. Györ coach Per Johansson, according to the published EHF statements, admitted after the match that his team had not found a solution for Bouktit and that Metz had been more powerful and faster in one-on-one play. In the same statement, Johansson emphasised that Metz deserved the title and that, in his opinion, it had been the best team of the season.
For Györ, the most efficient player was Bruna de Paula with seven goals from 12 attempts, while Nathalie Hagman and other players from the back line also made an important attacking contribution in the first half. But Györ, despite the depth of its squad and its experience in trophy matches, failed to stabilise its defence in periods when Metz raised the pace. In the closing stages, the Hungarian side came closer and reopened the question of the winner, but the French team withstood the pressure and preserved a two-goal advantage. From the perspective of the flow of the match, it was precisely Metz’s ability to remain calm after Györ’s late comeback that made the difference between a historic victory and another missed attempt at the final tournament.
Turnaround before the break and key run in the second half
Györ opened the final strongly in attack. According to statements published by the EHF, coach Per Johansson assessed that his team had a very good attacking rhythm in the first 15 minutes and scored 11 goals, but that defensive problems appeared immediately. That assessment was clearly visible in the scoring dynamics: Györ had the lead, but failed to pull away enough to force Metz to play under constant pressure. The French team stayed close, used the space around the six-metre area and punished the periods in which the Hungarian defence was late in switches.
The end of the first half was the first major turning point of the final. The EHF states that Metz kept Györ without a goal from the 25th minute until the break, and that run enabled the French side to make a comeback and gain a psychological advantage. Sarah Bouktit’s goal for 18:17 before the interval changed the tone of the match because Györ, from a phase of control, suddenly entered the continuation as a team that had to search for an answer. For Metz, it was proof that it could withstand the surges of the defending champion and that it did not have to play only reactively in the final.
The second turning point came midway through the continuation. According to the official EHF report, Metz had a six-goal advantage in the 46th minute after once again managing to stop Györ for almost eight minutes without a goal. During that period, the French side did not depend on only one player: alongside Bouktit, Tyra Axnér and the players who brought width to the attack stood out, while coach Emmanuel Mayonnade used almost the entire squad. Such an approach proved important because the final, after demanding semi-finals the previous day, required freshness and an even distribution of responsibility.
Györ raised the rhythm in the last ten or so minutes and forced Metz into a more nervous finish. The EHF notes in its report that Kristine Breistøl was directly disqualified in the 54th minute for pushing Léna Grandveau in the air, leaving Györ without an important defensive player at key moments. Despite that, the Hungarian team continued to press and reduce the deficit, but Metz retained enough composure in attack and enough solidity in defence not to allow a complete turnaround. Mayonnade, according to published statements, admitted that his team feared Györ’s final pressure, but stressed that the players continued doing what had brought them the advantage.
The French club seized a historic opportunity
Metz arrived in Budapest with the clear burden of past failures at the final tournament. According to the EHF report on the semi-final, with a 32:27 victory against CSM Bucuresti the French club reached the final of the EHF Champions League Women for the first time in its history. That success in itself was already a step forward, because before 2026 Metz had reached the top four several times, but had not managed to clear the final hurdle to the title match. In the semi-final, Emmanuel Mayonnade’s team showed defensive stability and attacking efficiency, which was the introduction to the performance that would bring the trophy the next day.
In the semi-final against CSM Bucuresti, according to the EHF, Metz won 32:27 with eight goals by Sarah Bouktit from eight attempts and seven goals by Chloé Valentini. Goalkeeper Johanna Bundsen recorded 17 saves with an efficiency of 39.5 percent, and the EHF also states that she scored two goals and helped the wings in launching counterattacks. That semi-final was important for understanding the later final: Metz was not winning only through individual quality, but through a combination of fast transition, discipline in tracking back and the ability to punish the opponents’ technical mistakes. A similar pattern was seen against Györ as well, especially in moments when the French defence closed space in the middle and the attack quickly attacked an unset defence.
For French women’s club handball, Metz’s title has broader significance. The EHF especially emphasised that Metz was the first French club to win the women’s EHF Champions League, and the success comes in a season in which JDA Bourgogne Dijon Handball won the EHF European League. Such a context confirms the strengthening of French clubs in European competitions, especially because the final tournament in Budapest also featured Brest Bretagne, another French representative. Still, Metz’s title carries special weight because it was won against Györ, the club that arrived at the MVM Dome as defending champion and a symbol of continuity at the highest European level.
Györ missed out on a third consecutive title
Györi Audi ETO KC entered the final as defending champion and as a club seeking a third consecutive title in the strongest European competition. According to the EHF report on the semi-final, Györ had reached the final the day before with a dramatic 31:30 victory against Brest Bretagne, after a match in which Brest had the lead in the closing stages, but the Hungarian team turned the result around in the final minutes. In that match, Dione Housheer scored nine goals from 13 attempts, and the EHF states that the atmosphere in the MVM Dome was exceptional in front of 19,850 spectators.
That semi-final left the impression of a team that finds a way to victory even in difficult situations, but the final showed the limits of relying on tight finishes. Johansson, after the defeat and according to the EHF statements, said that great teams can win such matches, but that they must not again put themselves in a situation where everything depends on small margins. Against Metz, Györ again had moments of comeback, but did not have enough defensive stability to complete the turnaround. This was especially evident in periods when Bouktit received the ball on the line or when Metz patiently drew out the defence and created shooting space.
The defeat also has a symbolic dimension because, for Nathalie Hagman, the final was the last match of her professional career. According to the EHF flash quotes, the Swedish handball player said that it was difficult for her not to finish her career with a trophy and acknowledged that Metz had played a quality match. Hagman also emphasised that Györ had had a great season, but that in the final it had not been good enough, especially in finding a defensive answer to Sarah Bouktit’s play. Her words neatly summarise an evening in which Györ had enough attacking quality for an even final, but defensively failed to impose the conditions it usually imposes in title matches.
FINAL4 confirmed the status of a major event in women’s club handball
The Raiffeisen Bank EHF FINAL4 2026 was held on 6 and 7 June at the MVM Dome in Budapest, and according to data from the International Handball Federation and the EHF, Brest Bretagne Handball, CSM Bucuresti, Györi Audi ETO KC and Metz Handball participated in the final tournament. In Saturday’s semi-finals, Metz defeated CSM Bucuresti 32:27, while Györ beat Brest 31:30. The following day, CSM Bucuresti won third place with a 32:26 victory against Brest, and the final ended with Metz’s 31:29 victory against Györ. Such a schedule and results confirmed the high level of parity among the best European teams, although the closing stages ultimately belonged to the club that showed the most continuity over two days.
The MVM Dome was once again the central stage of women’s club handball. For the final, the EHF published the figure of 20,022 spectators and a sold-out arena, while the semi-finals had already attracted exceptional attendance: the Metz - CSM match was played in front of 18,500 spectators, while the Brest - Györ match was watched by 19,850 spectators. Such figures are important for the development of women’s sport because they show that the final tournament is not only the competitive peak of the season, but also an event that can fill one of Europe’s largest arenas. Budapest thereby once again confirmed itself as a stable host of the EHF’s final-stage format.
Sportingly, the tournament brought a change in the order at the European summit. Györ still remained among the strongest clubs on the continent, but Metz, by winning the final, sent a clear message that the balance in the women’s Champions League can change and that experience in final matches is not the only decisive factor. Over two days, the French side defeated CSM Bucuresti and Györ, two teams with major European ambitions, while showing different ways to win: control against the Romanian side and resilience against Hungarian pressure. That is precisely why this title will not be remembered only as the first in the club’s history, but also as confirmation of the maturation of a team that had been close to the biggest trophy for years.
For the 2025/26 season, the curtain thus came down on the strongest European club competition for women handball players. The EHF announced that Henny Reistad of Team Esbjerg finished the season as the competition’s top scorer with 131 goals, although she did not play at the final tournament. That fact further underlines how broadly competitive the season was and how much the path to the title required continuity from the group stage to the final. Metz ultimately completed that path with a victory that changes the club’s history, and the trophy from Budapest becomes a reference point for all future ambitions of the French champion of Europe.
Sources:
- European Handball Federation (EHF) – official report of the Györi Audi ETO KC - Metz Handball final and key match data (link)
- European Handball Federation (EHF) – official page of the Raiffeisen Bank EHF FINAL4 2026 event with schedule, results and location (link)
- European Handball Federation (EHF) – flash quotes from coaches and players after the final and the third-place match (link)
- European Handball Federation (EHF) – report of the Metz Handball - CSM Bucuresti semi-final (link)
- European Handball Federation (EHF) – report of the Brest Bretagne Handball - Györi Audi ETO KC semi-final (link)
- International Handball Federation (IHF) – announcement and data on EHF FINAL4 Women 2026 in Budapest (link)