2019–20 EHF Cup

The schedule of the competition is as follows (all draws will be held at the EHF headquarters in Vienna, Austria).[3][4]

The qualification stage consists of three rounds, which will be played as two-legged ties using a home-and-away system. In the draws for each round, teams are allocated into two pots, with teams from Pot 1 facing teams from Pot 2. The winners of each pairing (highlighted in bold) will qualify for the following round.

For each round, teams listed first will play the first leg at home. In some cases, teams agree to play both matches at the same venue.

Round 1

A total of 32 teams entered the draw for the first qualification round, which was held on Tuesday, 16 July 2019.[5] The draw seeding pots were composed as follows:

Pot 1	Pot 2
RK Dubrava RD Riko Ribnica HC Dobrogea Sud Constanța Maccabi Rishon LeZion FH Hafnarfjordur HC Spartak Moscow SSK Talent M.A.T. Plzeň ZTR Zaporizhia RK Vojvodina HC Achilles Bocholt Olympiacos S.F.P. Alpla HC Hard KRAS Volendam KH BESA Famgas Handball Esch Beşiktaş Aygaz	Põlva Serviti Dragūnas Klaipėda SSV Bozen Loacker London GD B.S.B. Batumi RK Lovćen RK Borac m:tel Swieqi Phoenix Handball Club RK Metaloplastika HC Visé BM CIP Travel Antalyaspor A.Ş. RK Poreč HK Malmö Pfadi Winterthur Haukar Handball SG Handball West Wien

The first legs were played on 31 August–1 September and the second legs were played on 7–8 September 2019. Some teams agreed to play both matches in the same venue.[6]

Team 1	Agg.	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
KH BESA Famgas	54–67 1	Pfadi Winterthur	24–33	30–34
Olympiacos S.F.P.	60–46	RK Borac m:tel	30–21	30–25
HK Malmö	61–52	HC Spartak Moscow	31–23	30–29
Maccabi Rishon LeZion	57–48 2	Dragūnas Klaipėda	34–28	23–20
RK Poreč	60–51	KRAS Volendam	29–23	31–28
HC Visé BM	48–56	FH Hafnarfjordur	27–27	21–29
RD Riko Ribnica	59–48	Põlva Serviti	32–22	27–26
ZTR Zaporizhia	78–34 3	London GD	39–20	39–14
CIP Travel Antalyaspor A.Ş.	40–53	HC Dobrogea Sud Constanța	24–24	16–29
SSV Bozen Loacker	50–51	Alpla HC Hard	24–23	26–28
Beşiktaş Aygaz	49–49 (a)4	RK Metaloplastika	25–25	24–24
Haukar Handball	45–51	SSK Talent M.A.T. Plzeň	20–25	25–26
HC Achilles Bocholt	48–47	SG Handball West Wien	26–22	22–25
Handball Esch	80–38 5	B.S.B. Batumi	38–16	42–22
RK Vojvodina	79–52 6	RK Lovćen	38–23	41–29
RK Dubrava	81–43 7	Swieqi Phoenix Handball Club	45–22	36–21

Notes

¹ Both legs were hosted by KH BESA Famgas.

² Both legs were hosted by Maccabi Rishon LeZion.

³ Both legs were hosted by ZTR Zaporizhia.

⁴ Both legs were hosted by Beşiktaş Aygaz.

⁵ Both legs were hosted by Handball Esch.

⁶ Both legs were hosted by RK Vojvodina.

⁷ Both legs were hosted by RK Dubrava.

Round 2

The first legs were played on 5–6 October and the second legs were played on 12–13 October 2019. Some teams agreed to play both matches in the same venue.[7]

Team 1	Agg.	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
SCM Politehnica Timișoara	57–58	Olympiacos S.F.P.	31–29	26–29
PAUC Handball	64–46	RK Poreč	38–26	26–20
SSK Talent M.A.T. Plzeň	58–44 1	Hapoel Ashdod	32–23	26–21
RD Riko Ribnica	56–61	SKA Minsk	33–33	23–28
HK Malmö	64–56	Selfoss	33–27	31–29
Alpla HC Hard	60–59 (p)3	Skjern Håndbold	25–26	26–25
RK Vojvodina	43–58	CB Ademar León	20–28	23–30
SL Benfica	63–44 2	RK Dubrava	29–28	34–16
RK Metaloplastika	53–64	RK Gorenje Velenje	24–32	29–32
HC Butel Skopje	42–43	ZTR Zaporizhia	18–14	24–29
KS Azoty-Puławy	57–53	Handball Esch	31–28	26–25
HC Dobrogea Sud Constanța	43–43 (a)	Csurgói KK	22–24	21–19
NMC Górnik Zabrze	50–48	Maccabi Rishon LeZion	29–26	21–22
HC Achilles Bocholt	59–52	Wacker Thun	34–33	25–19
FH Hafnarfjordur	52–58	ØIF Arendal Elite	25–30	27–28
Pfadi Winterthur	72–37	RK Pelister	39–16	33–21

Notes

¹ Both legs were hosted by Talent M.A.T. Plzeň.

² Both legs were hosted by SL Benfica.

³ A penalty shootout – which lasted nine shots for each team – was necessary to determine the winner of the tie between ALPLA HC Hard and Skjern Handbold. ALPLA HC Hard won 9–8.

Round 3

A total of 32 teams entered the draw for the third qualification round, which was held on Tuesday, 15 October 2019.[8] The draw seeding pots were composed as follows: [9]

Pot 1	Pot 2
RK Nexe Bjerringbro-Silkeborg TTH Holstebro BM Logroño La Rioja Liberbank Cuenca Chambéry Savoie Mont-Blanc HBC Nantes USAM Nîmes Gard Füchse Berlin MT Melsungen Rhein-Neckar Löwen SC Magdeburg Balatonfüredi KSE Grundfos Tatabánya KC Metalurg Skopje Gwardia Opole	Alpla HC Hard HC Achilles Bocholt SKA Minsk SSK Talent M.A.T. Plzeň CB Ademar León PAUC Handball Olympiacos S.F.P. Csurgói KK ØIF Arendal Elite KS Azoty-Puławy NMC Górnik Zabrze SL Benfica RK Gorenje Velenje Pfadi Winterthur HK Malmö ZTR Zaporizhia

The first legs were played on 16–17 November and the second legs were played on 23–24 November 2019.[10]

Team 1	Agg.	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Balatonfüredi KSE	51–56	CB Ademar León	30–27	21–29
SKA Minsk	45–61	Rhein-Neckar Löwen	28–32	17–29
NMC Górnik Zabrze	51–74	SC Magdeburg	25–37	26–37
Pfadi Winterthur	63–70	Bjerringbro-Silkeborg	33–36	30–34
Chambéry Savoie Mont-Blanc	43–44	PAUC Handball	20–25	23–19
Liberbank Cuenca	59–50	Alpla HC Hard	34–18	25–32
Grundfos Tatabánya KC	53–51	ZTR Zaporizhia	27–24	26–27
HBC Nantes	60–59	ØIF Arendal Elite	30–29	30–30
RK Nexe	54–54 (a)	SL Benfica	30–26	24–28
RK Gorenje Velenje	47–42	Metalurg Skopje	24–19	23–23
HK Malmö	53–61	Füchse Berlin	27–34	26–27
MT Melsungen	52–47	Olympiacos S.F.P.	32–28	20–19
SSK Talent M.A.T. Plzeň	46–67	TTH Holstebro	25–30	21–37
BM Logroño La Rioja	73–57	HC Achilles Bocholt	37–26	36–31
Gwardia Opole	54–53	KS Azoty-Puławy	26–24	28–29
Csurgói KK	48–54	USAM Nîmes Gard	28–25	20–29

The draw of the EHF Cup group stage will take place on Thursday, 28 November 2019. The 16 teams allocated into four pots will be drawn into four groups of four teams.

In each group, teams play against each other home-and-away in a round-robin format. The matchdays are 8–9 February, 15–16 February, 22–23 February, 29 February–1 March, 21–22 March and 28–29 March 2020.

On 25 March 2020, the EHF announced that no matches will be played before June due to the coronavirus pandemic.[11]

In the group stage, teams are ranked according to points (2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). After completion of the group stage, if two or more teams have scored the same number of points, the ranking will be determined as follows:

1. Highest number of points in matches between the teams directly involved;
2. Superior goal difference in matches between the teams directly involved;
3. Highest number of goals scored in matches between the teams directly involved (or in the away match in case of a two-team tie);
4. Superior goal difference in all matches of the group;
5. Highest number of plus goals in all matches of the group;

If the ranking of one of these teams is determined, the above criteria are consecutively followed until the ranking of all teams is determined. If no ranking can be determined, a decision shall be obtained by EHF through drawing of lots.

During the group stage, only criteria 4–5 apply to determine the provisional ranking of teams.

Group A

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		BEN	MEL	BJE	GWA
1	SL Benfica	4	4	0	0	121	97	+24	8	Knockout stage		—	29–26	Cancelled	29–24
2	MT Melsungen	4	2	0	2	118	118	0	4	Ranking of the second-placed teams		Cancelled	—	35–33	26–21
3	Bjerringbro-Silkeborg	4	2	0	2	124	128	−4	4	Eliminated		24–33	35–31	—	Cancelled
4	Gwardia Opole	4	0	0	4	97	117	−20	0			23–30	Cancelled	29–32	—

Updated to match(es) played on 29 February 2020. Source: EHF

Group B

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		RNL	NIM	LIB	HOL
1	Rhein-Neckar Löwen	4	4	0	0	136	111	+25	8	Knockout stage		—	32–31	36–25	Cancelled
2	USAM Nîmes Gard	4	2	1	1	123	117	+6	5	Ranking of the second-placed teams		Cancelled	—	29–29	33–28
3	Liberbank Cuenca	4	1	1	2	111	125	−14	3	Eliminated		28–33	Cancelled	—	29–27
4	TTH Holstebro (E)	4	0	0	4	110	127	−17	0			27–35	28–30	Cancelled	—

Updated to match(es) played on 29 February 2020. Source: EHF
(E) Eliminated.

Group C

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		MAG	NAN	GOR	ADE
1	SC Magdeburg	4	4	0	0	123	109	+14	8	Knockout stage		—	29–28	32–26	Cancelled
2	HBC Nantes	4	2	0	2	125	116	+9	4	Ranking of the second-placed teams		28–31	—	Cancelled	34–28
3	Gorenje Velenje	4	2	0	2	110	115	−5	4	Eliminated		Cancelled	28–35	—	30–25
4	Abanca Ademar León	4	0	0	4	103	121	−18	0			27–31	Cancelled	23–26	—

Updated to match(es) played on 1 March 2020. Source: EHF

Group D

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		FUC	PAU	TAT	LOG
1	Füchse Berlin	4	2	1	1	110	102	+8	5	Knockout stage		—	Cancelled	27–27	33–26
2	PAUC Handball	4	1	2	1	102	100	+2	4	Ranking of the second-placed teams		23–25	—	26–22	Cancelled
3	Grundfos Tatabánya KC	4	1	2	1	99	102	−3	4	Eliminated		Cancelled	24–24	—	26–25
4	BM Logroño La Rioja	4	1	1	2	106	113	−7	3			26–25	29–29	Cancelled	—

Updated to match(es) played on 1 March 2020. Source: EHF

Ranking of the second-placed teams

The top three second-placed teams will qualify to the quarter-finals. The ranking of the second-placed teams will be determined on the basis of the team's results in the group stage.

Pos	Grp	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	B	USAM Nîmes Gard	4	2	1	1	123	117	+6	5	Knockout stage
2	C	HBC Nantes	4	2	0	2	125	116	+9	4
3	D	PAUC Handball	4	1	2	1	102	100	+2	4
4	A	MT Melsungen	4	2	0	2	118	118	0	4	Eliminated

Updated to match(es) played on 1 March 2020. Source: EHF
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

As of 29 February 2020

Rank	Player	Club	Goals[14]
1	Mohammad Sanad	USAM Nîmes Gard	49
2	Magnus Bramming	TTH Holstebro	44
	Petar Đorđić	S.L. Benfica

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