Surprise at the Handball World Cup
France doesn’t miss a beat, Iceland slips up
01/14/2023, 11:18 p.m
European champion Sweden also wins its second game in front of a home crowd at the Handball World Championship and thus makes it perfect for the main round. There are also the co-favorites France and Spain. Sweden’s co-hosts Poland, on the other hand, have to tremble.
The favorites France, Sweden and Spain made it into the main round at the Handball World Championships in Poland and Sweden, while Iceland failed against Hungary. Thanks to the comeback, the Hungarians have qualified for the main round, and after their second win, Slovenia can no longer slip down to last place in Group B and is therefore through.
Insider tip Iceland lost a clear lead against Hungary. Despite a six-goal lead, the Icelanders around Magdeburg’s Omar Ingi Magnusson and Gisli Thorgeir Kristjansson lost 28:30 (17:12). Hungary qualified for the next round and meets Sweden there.
The European champions also won their second game in Gothenburg against Cape Verde 34:27 (19:8), the World Cup hosts ensured clear conditions in the first half. Hampus Wanne from Flensburg and Daniel Pettersson from German champions SC Magdeburg each scored five goals.
France outclasses Saudi Arabia
Spain found it a little harder against Chile, but ultimately beat the self-sacrificing South Americans 34:26 (18:15). The top scorer of the two-time world champion was Alex Dujshebaev (six goals).
In the main round, Spain will face record world champions and Olympic champions France. The co-favorite previously qualified as the first team for the next round. Against the blatant outsider Saudi Arabia, France didn’t let anything burn at 41:23 (24:14) in Katowice.
In the France group, Slovenia also made it into the main round with their second win in the second game. The Slovenians surprisingly won 32:23 (17:11) against co-hosts Poland in Katowice, so the Poles have to win their last group game against Saudi Arabia, who is also without a win, in order to progress.