Melsungen Escape in Skopje Seven Seconds From Time, Vardar Finish the Champions League Bottom of the Group

Vardar: a farewell draw, last place

Vardar drew 26-26 with Melsungen in the final round of the group stage and finished the Champions League in last place - one win, one draw and four defeats. Vardar led 14-12 at half-time and 26-25 in the final minute, but Florian Drosten equalised seven seconds from the end and took the Germans into the next phase along with Wisła Płock, while Nantes went out. Vardar's top scorer was Mateo Faduil with seven goals. Coach Ivan Čupić says they lacked "a bit of experience, and luck too", and that the team was competitive to the end of every match except at home against Wisła. "Whether it was realistic for us to go through or not, let others judge," he added. Vardar continue in the European League, the EHF's second-tier competition.

Zagreb humiliate Celje

The Croatian-Slovenian derby in Celje ended 38-32 to Zagreb. The hosts finished the group stage without a single point, even though their biggest talent, Aljuš Anžič, scored 10 goals. The club that was European champion more than two decades ago has now said goodbye to the Champions League with zero points. Balkan handball still produces talents like Anžič - the question is how long it can keep them at home.

Dinamo grab the last ticket

Dinamo Bucharest beat already-eliminated Montpellier 36-26 and at the last moment took the final ticket to the next phase. At the same time, Aarhus lost at home to Barcelona 30-27, so both teams finished on five points, and the Romanians went through on head-to-head: a 25-25 draw in Denmark and a 37-23 win in Bucharest. Barcelona finished the group with six wins from six. Six rounds of battle, and in the end the standings were settled by one convincing night in Bucharest last week.

Gidsel with 12 goals, Partizan without a win

Füchse Berlin beat Partizan 40-33, but the Serbian side held on for almost 45 minutes and led by a goal at half-time. Berlin only went back in front in the 35th minute, and then Mathias Gidsel with 12 goals and Tim Freihöfer with 11 settled the match. Partizan finished the group without a win, their only point coming from a 33-33 draw with Porto. In the other group, Veszprém finished the group stage perfectly, with six wins from six. Partizan showed they can keep pace with the best for half an hour - but in the Champions League you play the full sixty minutes.

Lazarov calls up Horiha, Peševski left out

Head coach Kiril Lazarov named an 18-man squad for the start of the Euro 2028 qualifiers. Macedonia play Luxembourg on 4 November in Skopje, travel to Greece four days later, and Sweden is also in the group. Dmytro Horiha will make his debut, Martin Serafimov returns, and experienced line player Žarko Peševski isn't on the list. Nikola Mitrevski is among the seven reserves, while Nenad Kosteski and Ivan Džonov are injured. Macedonia are chasing a milestone tenth appearance at a European Championship, and the squad first gathers on Sunday in Skopje. The qualifiers will show whether the generational change is a plan or a necessity.