The Morning Club - 15 May: World Championship qualifiers update, John Ryan in Iowa for the North American tournament

The Morning Club - 15 May: World Championship qualifiers update, John Ryan in Iowa for the North American tournament

It's national team week for the men with places at next January's World Championship in Germany on the line. Plenty of intrigue among the 10 European play-offs, while it comes down to USA vs Greenland in Iowa on Saturday. Team Handball News' John Ryan joins us to chat about the tournament, how Team USA is shaping up and the new residency project players in action at this weekend's club championship in the same location. For access to all our Morning Club episodes, join us on patreon.com/handballhour

Episode 324 - First leg reflections in the CL Quarter-finals with Björn Pazen, Talant Dujshebaev leaves Kielce after 12 years

With Björn Pazen in the forest, Chris at the beach and Alex at home, we dive into the week's Champions League first leg encounters, which gave us a surprising lack of surprise results. We also look at the sudden departure of Talant Dujshebaev from Kielce, bringing an end to a 12-year era, consider his most memorable times and what's next.

Episode 323 - Szeged rip up Gottfridsson's contract, Zoltan Szendrei and Ola Selby react

Less than a season into a 3-year contract, Jim Gottfridsson's time at Szeged has come to an abrupt end and it has been anything but amicable. Gottfridsson has called it unilateral, unjustified and unlawful, Szeged have said they acted legally and little else. We speak to Nemzeti Sport's Zoltán Szendrei and Handbollskanalen's Ola Selby to get their reactions and the mood in both the Hungarian and Swedish sphere around this sudden shock move on the back of what felt like a turning point for the club's season.

Episode 322 - Champions League reviews with Danijela Vekic, halftime in the men's playoffs, women's elite eight is set

Danijela Vekic joins us to discuss the latest action in Europe's top flight competitions. We're halfway through the men's playoffs, where we've already seen Sporting and GOG let big advantages slip from their grasp as all but one of the contests are delicately poised. The women's Champions League has been whittled down to eight contenders with a new face among the mix. In the round's headline clash, we wonder which curse is likelier to end - CSM Bucuresti's or Esbjerg's?

Episode 321 - Is Simon Pytlick the Britney Spears of handball? Talant takes the reins in France, Veszprém players threatened by the doctor

With the recent international week offering little in the way of drama, we filled our gossip cup with stories off the court in the past few days, including Simon Pytlick's revelations about the breakdown in trust with Flensburg, French coaches displeasure with a non-Frenchman taking over France's national team and Veszprem's players being told there will be consequences if they don't reach the club's lofty goals this season.