Still in the apprenticeship phase at the highest level, this GOG team can sometimes seem to lack maturity when it matters most. However, this is also what makes them such a formidable and unpredictable opponent.
In goal, Sweden 'keeper Peter Johanneson brings his international experience to bear in his return to the EHF Champions League at the age of 31, having not played in the competition for 13 years. For his goalkeeping partner Salah Boutaf, however, Europe's top club competition is a completely new experience, as it is for much of the squad.
The right-back position in particular is filled with many talented players to watch out for. Among them, Hjalte Lykke stands out as the leader. At just 21 years of age, this GOG youth academy graduate is already in his fourth Champions League campaign. And the newly capped Danish international is going from strength to strength, having already found the back of the net 25 times on the continental stage this season.
Also on the right flank, Kasper Christensen can count on Lasse Vilhelmsen and Emil Sorensen. While the former, aged 20, has had an excellent start to the campaign, scoring 22 goals - including eight in the last match against Zagreb - Emil Sorensen is more of an up-and-coming talent. At just 18 years of age, he is coming off an excellent EHF Youth Club Trophy campaign, in which he helped his team surprise everyone by taking the title as he finished third on the scorers chart with 31 goals.
The rest of the backcourt crew boasts more experienced, with the unshakeable Nicolai Pedersen on the left flank. He crossed paths with Stefan Madsen at Aalborg in 2014, when the current Parisian coach was still an assistant. Three players in their thirties alternate at centre-back, with former Toulouse and Nîmes player Henrik Jakobsen seeming to stand out above Anton Lindskog and Lasse Balstad, who crossed paths with the capital club last season with Fredericia.
The attacking line-up is equally impressive, with the exciting Frederik Bjerre on the left. The 24-year-old winger, who is the Gudme club's top scorer with 39 goals so far, is proving to be a great signing for GOG. With eight goals against Zagreb last time out and nine against Magdeburg, Bjerre has not been shy in his first EHF Champions League campaign. On the opposite wing, Kasper Kildelund and Mikkel Lang are sharing playing time in the absence of Oskar Vind, but it is Oli Mittun who will be the one to watch at Coubertin on Thursday.
Top scorer at the 2022 U18 European Championship (80 goals), the 2024 U20 European Championship (76 goals) and the 2025 U21 World Championship (73 goals), the Faroese player has put his archipelago on the world handball map and is establishing himself as one of the world's biggest stars. Having arrived from Swedish club Sävehof this summer, the 20-year-old centre-half has already found the back of the net 17 times in four Champions League matches, making an exceptional debut and showing he has everything it takes to leave his mark on the history of handball.
