The handball players of Čakovec suffered a narrow defeat in the first match of the European League qualifiers at home against the Swiss team Bern, with a final score of 28:31. The game took place on August 30, 2025.

Čakovec showed a strong performance in the first half and led 15:13 at halftime. However, the visitors from Bern played better in the second half and managed to overturn the deficit to take the win.

Čakovec struggled early on, only scoring their first goal in the seventh minute, while Bern had already taken a 3:0 lead. Despite this, the home team improved and was leading by two goals at halftime. In the second half, the teams were tied at 22:22 midway, but Bern pulled ahead afterwards and kept their lead until the final whistle.

The top performer for Čakovec was goalkeeper Luka Baković with 11 saves and Bruno Levak, who scored five goals. For Bern, the standout players were Levin Wanner with 11 goals and Mathieu Seravalli with 10 saves.

The return leg is scheduled for September 7, 2025, in Gümligen. The aggregate winner will advance to the European League group stage, which already includes Spanish team Granollers and Slovenian club Slovan.

This sets a challenging task for Čakovec to overturn the three-goal deficit in the upcoming match to advance further in the competition.