After the French team won against Qatar at the start of the World Cup, the top favorite followed suit. The defending champion from Denmark overran Algeria 47:22 (20:11) in front of a great backdrop in Herning. There, Italy managed their first surprise with a 32:25 (17:11) win against Tunisia.
Hardly anyone doubted that the Danes would win in the opening game, but the performance of the defending champions makes it clear that the World Cup victory this year can only come from the hosts. With 47:22 (20:11), the team around superstar Mathias Gidsel dismantled their opening opponents in Group B over long stretches of the game. The best thrower of the game was the Bundesliga professional Füchse Berlin: Gidsel scored ten times.
Italy celebrates its World Cup comeback
The first game of this World Cup was tighter, but the other game in Danish Group B wasn’t a nail-biter either. Italy celebrated its World Cup comeback with a 32:25 win against Tunisia and promptly its first victory in 28 years. Thanks to a strong Domenico Ebner (SC DHfK Leipzig) in goal, Italy was able to quickly take the lead and maintained it for the entire game. Up front, Leo Prantner (HBW Balingen-Weilstetten), a second Bundesliga player, was convincing, scoring ten times in total and ultimately being voted the most valuable player of the game.
“A bit of a dolce vita atmosphere here in Denmark,” beamed Ebner at the sports show microphone. “This victory is huge!”
Italy therefore has a good chance of progressing, with the best three teams in each group moving on to the main round. The Italians could meet Germany there, the DHB team starts the tournament on Wednesday against Poland (8.30 p.m., live on Erste and in the stream on sportschau.de).
France with a strong start to the World Cup
France’s handball players were missing a few of the well-known names from previous years at the start of Group C. Nikola Karabatic ended his career, Gummersbach’s Kentin Mahé was left out of the squad shortly before the tournament, and Dika Mem (FC Barcelona) only sat on the bench. After his shoulder operation, the left-hander is in the phase of “gradual return to handball,” said the association before the tournament.
Mem only came into the game after 18 minutes and immediately scored to make it 12:6 – France lived up to their role as favorites from the start. The French led 18:10 at halftime and won comfortably in the end 37:19. The most successful thrower in the Porec Zatika Arena was backcourt giant Thibaud Briet with seven goals.
Kuwait can annoy Austria for a long time
Group opponents Austria got off to a somewhat bumpy start against Kuwait, appearing in a finals for the first time since 2009. Without the injured stars Mykola Bilyk (thigh) and Janko Bozovic (knee), it took until the second half for Aleš Pajovič’s team to really break away. At the end of the game it became clear thanks to Tobias Wagner’s goals (five goals). In the 37:26 win (18:16), goalkeeper Constantin Möstl (TBV Lemgo Lippe) was voted the most valuable player of the game. Saif Aladwani, who scored a total of four times, was particularly impressive on the Kuwait side.