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Metz Handball Writes History: EHF Champions League Trophy Heads to France
France's Metz Handball defeated Györi Audi ETO KC 31:29 in the Raiffeisen Bank EHF FINAL4 2026 final in Budapest, becoming the first French club ever to win the EHF Women's Champions League. Sarah Bouktit's outstanding performance shaped the historic night.
In This Story
- Metz Handball defeated Györ 31:29 to become the first French club to win the EHF Women's Champions League
- Final MVP Sarah Bouktit scored 12 goals in the final and 20 in total across the tournament
- The final at the 20,022-capacity MVM Dome matched the world attendance record for women's club handball
A new chapter has opened in the EHF Women's Champions League, European club handball's most prestigious competition. In the final played before 20,022 spectators at the MVM Dome in the Hungarian capital Budapest, Metz Handball defeated a formidable Györi Audi ETO KC side 31:29 to claim the trophy.
Györ were the side who tilted the balance in their favor in the first half. With four goals apiece from Bruna de Paula and Nathalie Hagman, the Hungarian side led by three goals for much of the opening period. However, the momentum shifted when Metz's combative line player Sarah Bouktit repeatedly got the better of the Györ goalkeeper from the 25th minute through to the break. A goal from Bouktit right at the buzzer sent Metz into the dressing room with an 18:17 advantage.
Metz's superiority became clear in the second half. The French side stretched their lead to six goals by the 46th minute and kept Györ off the scoresheet for roughly eight minutes. Although Györ mounted late pressure, Emmanuel Mayonnade's players did not lose their composure. In a pivotal moment, Györ's star player Kristine Breistøl was sent off with a direct red card in the 54th minute for pushing Léna Grandveau in the air, costing the Hungarian side a crucial defensive presence.
Bouktit, named Final MVP, capped an extraordinary FINAL4 with eight goals in the semifinal and 12 in the final. Hatadou Sako guarded the Györ goal and made eight saves at a 30 percent save rate in the first 30 minutes, but even that was not enough to contain Bouktit's relentless attacking threat.
With this victory, Metz became the first French club to lift the trophy in the history of the EHF Champions League. The achievement comes just weeks after JDA Bourgogne Dijon Handball won the EHF European League, opening the door to what looks like a historic era for French club handball.
The season's top scorer award went to Henny Reistad of Team Esbjerg. The Norwegian claimed the honor with 131 goals despite not featuring at the FINAL4.
Metz Handball, Györi Audi ETO KC, EHF Champions League, FINAL4 2026, Sarah Bouktit, Women's Champions League, European Handball
Metz's triumph is not merely a trophy win; it is concrete evidence of the maturation of the French school of handball at the European club level. Györ have stood as the near-unquestioned rulers of this competition in recent years, and it was widely assumed that a genuine challenger would only emerge over time. Metz arrived at precisely this moment, armed with tactical discipline and a remarkably deep roster in terms of individual quality. Emmanuel Mayonnade's decision to use nearly his entire squad in the final, drawing contributions from every player, shows that this team's strength rests on a collective structure rather than a single star. Bouktit's exceptional trajectory—from her buzzer-beating goal before the break to her clinical finishing in the second half—demonstrated just how vividly individual brilliance can bloom on that collective foundation. Györ losing a player as critical as Breistøl to a disciplinary red card in such a high-stakes final atmosphere effectively closed out the equation early. French handball, on both the men's and women's side, currently stands as the best in Europe—and that reality is becoming increasingly difficult to dispute.
