LAST WEEK IN THE CL: Many VELUX EHF Champions League players represented their nations in the EHF EURO 2020 Qualifiers, while some had a chance to take their mind off the court
Donning country colours and catching a splash of culture
The past week’s national team period saw the majority of the VELUX EHF Champions League’s big stars in action for their nations in EHF EURO 2020 Qualifiers.
The expansion of the final tournament to 24 teams means new hope for teams which have struggled to break into the top tier over the years, which resulted in some top notch performances from underdogs.
Finland have been making big strides in recent years and despite two losses last week, Riihimäen Cocks’ captain Teemu Tamminen produced this moment of brilliance.
Arber Qerimi is enjoying his first top flight season with Zagreb and he played a big part in Belgium’s tremendous away draw against Serbia.
Switzerland put themselves in contention for qualification with a win over Serbia, inspired by 10 goals from Andre Schmid, who fired in 18 over the opening two rounds.
Rhein-Neckar Löwen teammate Patrick Groetzki scored two convincing wins from two with Germany. They had some support for their away match in Kosovo in the form of the German armed forces, who they met pre-match.
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Chris O'Reilly / ew