Handball World Cup starts exciting
France has to tremble against outsiders for a long time
01/11/2023 10:33 p.m
The Handball World Championship in Poland and Sweden starts with a victory for the favourites. But record champion France has to work hard against co-hosts. He can set France apart decisively in the final minutes.
Record champion France started the Handball World Championship with a hard work victory. The six-time title holder prevailed in Wednesday’s opening game against co-hosts Poland by 26:24 (14:13). Other rivals in Group B are Slovenia and Saudi Arabia. The best thrower for the winner was Dika Mem from Champions League winner FC Barcelona with six goals.
The German team only intervenes in the tournament on Friday against Asian champions Qatar. Other preliminary round opponents of the DHB selection are Serbia and Algeria.
Driven by the loud fans in the packed Spodek Arena in Katowice, the Poles stood up to the favorites from the start and were not impressed by a four-goal deficit at 8:12 after a good 20 minutes. The team, which was made up of several Bundesliga professionals, managed to catch up again before the break.
Even after the change, it remained a duel at eye level in which the French were not able to break away decisively. Eleven minutes before the end, the Poles managed to equalize for the first time in a long time, but the hosts made two mistakes and put the favorites back on the road to victory.
However, it was only when the Poles lost their strength in the final phase that the Olympic champion finally prevailed. The most successful French thrower was Dika Mem with six goals, superstar Nikola Karabatic, who is playing his ninth world championship these days, remained without a goal.
Poland meets Slovenia in their second group game on Saturday (8.30 p.m.). The French (6 p.m.) play against Saudi Arabia beforehand. The top three teams in each group advance to the main round.