Vardar Crush Nantes 33:27, Zagreb Topple PSG: a Balkan Night in the Champions League

Vardar 33:27 in Nantes: the first win came in the toughest place

Four defeats, two of them by a single goal - and then, when everyone expected another one, Vardar 1961 went to France and crushed Nantes 33:27. Ivan Čupić's team led 16:13 at half-time, and in the second half the lead stretched to ten goals. Goalkeeper Miloš Valach was a wall with 17 saves, Leon Ljevar was top scorer with seven goals, Jaka Malus added six and Uroš Mitrović five. Vardar won't go through to the main round and will continue its European season in the EHF European League, but the defeat has put Nantes in an awkward position in Group B. The question that will hurt in Skopje: where was this game a month ago, when one-goal defeats cost points?

Zagreb 29:28 PSG: the Croatians weren't playing a friendly

Out of the race for the main round and without the suspended Jovica Nikolić - and still Zagreb beat Paris Saint-Germain 29:28. The French had Ferran Solé with 10 goals from 11 attempts and were in control until the break, but in the second half goalkeeper Sandro Meštrić reached nine saves and Ihar Bialiauski carried the attack with eight goals. Filip Glavaš equalised five minutes from the end, and in the closing minutes the Croatian champions took the lead for the first time in the second half and didn't let go. Nikolić missed the match because the EHF Court of Handball judged his foul against Aalborg "particularly serious and extremely dangerous" and banned him for two matches, so he'll also miss the clash with Celje. When there's nothing left to lose, the Balkans usually plays at its most dangerous.

Veszprém 39:35 Füchse Berlin: Nielsen settled it in the first ten minutes

Veszprém beat Füchse Berlin for the second time this season, 39:35, and carry the maximum four points into the main round - a small revenge for last year's quarter-final exit on penalties. Danish goalkeeper Emil Nielsen had seven saves in the first quarter, Berlin didn't score for the first five minutes, and after ten minutes the hosts led by four. In the 15th minute Mathes Langhoff was sent off after hitting Ali Zein in the face. Mathias Gidsel scored nine goals and Mijajlo Marsenić kept cutting the deficit, but before the break Veszprém led by as many as nine. When the competition's top scorer loses to one goalkeeper, you know where matches are won.

Dinamo thrash Aarhus, Partizan get their first point

Aarhus needed just one point for a historic place in the main round. In Bucharest they lost 23:37. Dinamo, last in the group before the round, punished the visitors' mistakes, led by eight goals seven minutes after the break and then only extended the gap. The Danes now have to wait. In Group A, Partizan finally got their first point in this Champions League with a 33:33 draw against Porto, with eight goals from Nikola Crnoglavac. Both clubs are already certain to continue their European season in the EHF European League. For a team that beats its rivals in the Serbian championship by more than 20 goals, a first European point is small - but it's a start.

Lazarov calls up Horiha: 35 names for the start of the road to EURO 2028

Head coach Kiril Lazarov has announced an extended list of 35 players for the EHF week, which will be trimmed to 16. Macedonia host Luxembourg in Skopje on November 4 and visit Greece in Chalkida on November 8, at the start of qualifying for the 2028 European Championship. The new name is Dmytro Horiha, a back with Hungary's Pick Szeged, who has been called up for the first time and could make his debut in the Macedonian shirt. Apart from him, the only other player based abroad is goalkeeper Martin Tomovski of Germany's Bietigheim, currently among the best goalkeepers in the Bundesliga. Only two players from abroad among 35 names means the weight of the national team is carried by the domestic league.