analysis
The favorite death in Oslo has caused a colorful mix of experienced teams and surprises among the last eight teams at the handball World Cup. Denmark is still the top favorite, but where is the DHB team? The teams in the power ranking.
1st place – Denmark
Strengthen: 34 World Cup games undefeated, three World Cup titles in a row, the best goal scorer (Mathias Gidsel – 49 goals) and the best goalkeeper of the tournament (Emil Nielsen – 43.8 percent. The Danish star ensemble shot all opponents including the German team from the “Hell of Herning”. The concentrated world class will be difficult to stop by Brazil and grabs in series after the historical fourth success.
The world’s best handball player is currently: Mathias Gidsel is the big trump card of the Danes.
Weaken: So far hardly any weak points have opened up in the Danish game. What does hope anyway? The home advantage is gone. And: coach Nikolai Jakobsen hardly gives his starting seven breaks, even with high tours. In the past EM final, France showed it and beat the Danes: with an impressive physique, patience and a little luck – so it is possible.
Previous results: 6 games / 6 victories (225: 143) – Best scorer: Mathias Gidsel (49 goals)
2nd place – France
Strengthen: In addition to Denmark, the team of Guillaume Gille is the only team unbeaten. The early return of Dika Mem and Elohim Prandi did the team extremely well. Thibaud Briet, half -left of HBC Nantes, also plays a strong world championship. The two-meter man perfectly complements the strong offensive series and adds another facet to the game with its throwing force (24 hits).
Has been playing a strong World Cup so far: Thibaud brew from HBC Nantes
Weaken: Neither Rémi Desbonnet nor Charles Bolzinger (both Montpellier HB) are statistically among the ten best goalkeepers of the tournament. Compared to the top nations and absolute title favorites, a clear disadvantage. The strong French defense against captain Ludovic Fabregas manages to hide the weak point so far, it becomes exciting at the latest when it weakens.
Previous results: 6 games / 6 victories (219: 148) – Best scorer: Dika Mem (36 goals)
3rd place – Germany
Strengthen: The years of the German handball player that had been spared in this tournament has been found. The German defense stands and behind it shines both David Späth (38.6 percent) and Andi Wolff (36.4). Much is and falls with the return of director Juri Knorr. If the 24-year-old is fit, the back room axis with Köster and Uščins is an absolute weapon in the further course of the tournament-the quality of Paris is here!
Strong team: The German duo Wolff/Späth is the big support in the goal.
Weaken: Technical errors and the lack of opportunities. In the 30:40 defeat against Denmark, the DHB team stood with an attack effectiveness of 55 percent-the Danes at 73. In the KO round, seven-meter throwing can become a game-decisive fakor. Even if Kastening (10/13) found his hand, Germany ranks behind Cape Verde and the USA with 17/24 throws.
Previous results: 6 games / 5 victories (190: 165) – Best scorer: Renārs Uščins (31 goals)
4th place – Portugal
Strengthen: It is probably the best young pair of brothers in European handball: Martim and Francisco “Kiko” Costa. The back area players from Sporting Lisbon together scored 69 of the 209 goals. Also valuable: Salvador Salvador. The 24-year-old stood out with 14 assists in the victory over Chile and could become an additional key player in the Portuguese in the current constitution.
Francisco “Kiko” Costa is considered one of the greatest young talents in Europe.
Weaken: Without the doping -locked middle man Miguel Martins, the Portuguese lacks an important piece of the puzzle in the attack. But above all the defensive still has room for improvement. On average, Portugal gets 28 goal, so they are behind the top nations (Denmark and France 24 each). No goalkeeper is statistically one of the top 25 of the tournament. The dependence on so much offensive power could already turn out to be a sticking point against the strong German defensive.
Previous results: 6 games / 5 victories / 1 draw (209: 169) – Best scorer: Francisco Costa (36 goals)
5th place – Croatia
Strengthen: At this handball World Cup, the Arena Zagreb is definitely the “eighth man” for the Croatians. Each action was celebrated against Iceland and Slovenia and the opponents were worn out in phases. The lightning return of the Croatian handball legend Domagoj Duvnjak is just as important as the performance of Dominik Kuzmanović. The Gummersbacher is the second best goalkeeper of the World Cup with 40.8 percent catch quota.
The emotional leader of the Croatians: Domagoj Duvnjak (left) and Dominik Kuzmanovic (right).
Weaken: The Croatian back room got a completely new face after a generation change. With Pavlovic (21 years old), SRNA (27) and Martinović (27), significantly fewer than 100 caps are on the floor in a crucial game situation. In the only defeat against Egypt, the lack of rip -off became clear, which the Croatians have otherwise honored for years.
Previous results: 6 games / 5 victories (198: 144) – Best goal scorers: Mario Šoštarić/Filip Glavaš (28 goals each)
6th place – Egypt
Strengthen: The great experience of Egypt coach Carlos Pastor. The Spaniard led his home country to the first World Cup title in 2005. It was also a clever move to distribute the load from the great star of the “Pharaohs”, Yahia Omar, over several shoulders. The left -hander has played much more freely since then and led his team to the quarter -finals with 30 goals and 14 assists.
PSG star Yahia Omar takes Egypt to the quarter-finals with strong performances.
Weaken: Egypt’s playmaker Yehia El-Dera (Veszprém) lacks the team because of a cruciate ligament tear. The 29-year-old is replaced by his younger brother Seif el-Deraa. However, the middle man does not find its shape in the tournament, only scored 18 out of 33 throws and scored eleven goals. The goalkeeper duo Hendawy/Aly is not part of the first quality class.
Previous results: 6 games / 5 victories (183: 149) – Best scorer: Yahia Omar (30 goals)
7th place – Brazil
Strengthen: With Spain, Norway and Sweden, the southern Europeans sent three European heavyweights home. This was mainly due to goalkeeper Rangel da Rosa (40 percent). Bryan Monte (22 goals) plays a strong World Cup in front and relieves the top goal scorer Haniel Langaro (28). The previous services have given the team a lot of confidence, which can also release forces.
After the surprising victories, Brazil has long been surfing a wave of success.
Weaken: 15, 16, 13 – the Brazilians made as many technical errors in the three main round games. No quarter -finalist gave the ball more often in the tournament (79 times). The South Americans always bring themselves into unnecessary problems. Since the previous opponents had a similarly high error rate, this weakness has not yet been significantly significant. In the quarter -finals, the Danes are likely to take advantage of it and decide the game early on.
Previous results: 6 games / 5 victories (167: 153) – Best scorer: Haniel Langaro (28 goals)
8th place – Hungary
Strengthen: The outside of the Hungarians can decide games. The Kiel Bence Imre is considered one of the largest talents on the right wing and convinces in the main round with accuracy (12/16) and diversity. His counterpart on the left, Bendegúz Bóka (14/15), also. With Richárd Bodó you also have an experienced joker who already taxed 15 goals and templates from the bank.
The Hungarian Zoltan Szita ensures a lot of goal in the previous tournament.
Weaken: So far, Hungary has only met with France for an opponent of the absolute top of the world. There, the weaknesses quickly became clear: 13 technical errors, 47 percent litter quota and 29 percent. The Hungarians often lack the solutions and a clear game management against aggressive covers. The heyday of the 36-year-old playmaker Máté Lékai seems to be over and the youngsters still lack the top international class.
Previous results: 6 games / 4 victories / 1 draw (186: 163) – Best scorer: Zoltán Szita (25 goals)