Sovereign victory
World Cup opener! Austria against Kuwait – from 8.30 pm
Austria's handball men have made a successful start to the World Championship with a 37:26 (18:16) victory over Kuwait and have their ticket to the main round within their grasp.
Despite the absence of captain Mykola Bilyk and the recent injury shock to Janko Bozovic, team boss Ales Pajovic's team came out on top in Porec on Tuesday and will now fight for two important points against Qatar on Thursday (20:30).
However, the Red-White-Red had to work hard for their opening victory. The physically inferior but nimble Kuwaiti had their work cut out for them in defense. It was mainly thanks to goalkeeper Constantin Möstl that they were two goals in front at the break. "It was a bit of a tough road to success. I found it very difficult today to come in and be the back-up I want to be," Möstl told ORF.
However, the 2024 European Championship hero prevented Austria from falling behind for the first time by saving a seven-meter penalty at 7:7 (11th minute) and immediately followed it up with two saves. Austria became somewhat more dominant, but leads of 13:9 and 17:13 were not enough to really break the resistance. Up front, the absence of Bilyk and Bozovic, who had to withdraw hours before the start of the game due to a meniscus injury, could not be completely concealed. As in the preparation tournament in Poland, they lacked confidence.
Greater class prevailed
The offensive cover variants of the fourth-placed team at the last Asian Championship did not make things any easier. "In the first half, our defense was a bit too defensive and we didn't take our chances in attack. But in the second half, we showed that we were the better team," explained Pajovic.
The Austrians' greater class finally prevailed - even if it took until around the 40th minute. By the time they led 28:21 (43') at the latest, the game was over, Möstl was still on a roll and their spirited opponents had exhausted their strength. Pajovic was finally able to give the entire bench time on court. "Hopefully we still have a lot of games left, so everyone had to get a few minutes. We made a lot of changes today, which makes me very happy. Everyone stepped on the gas," said the team boss.
In the final minutes, 20-year-old Nicolas Paulnsteiner, who was called up at short notice to replace Bozovic, made his senior team debut. "We got all the players into the tournament, they all did well today. We're super happy now. That was the start we were hoping for," said sports director Patrick Fölser. Now Qatar, who suffered a 19:37 defeat against favorites France on Tuesday, await.
Group C in Porec
Tuesday, 14.01.2025
France - Qatar 37:19 (18:10)
Austria - Kuwait 37:26 (18:16)
Best scorers AUT: Frimmel, Damböck, Zivkovic, Wagner 5 each
| 1. | France | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 37:19 | 2 |
| 2. | Austria | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 37:26 | 2 |
| 3. | Kuwait | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 26:37 | 0 |
| 4. | Qatar | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 19:37 | 0 |
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