Here in the live ticker:

World Cup opener! Austria against Kuwait – from 8.30 pm

ÖHB team goalie Constantin Möstl

(Bild: GEPA pictures)

Kick-off for our handball players at the World Championships in Croatia, Denmark and Norway. The ÖHB team will face Kuwait in Porec, we will be reporting live from 8.30 pm - see ticker below.

Here is the live ticker:

Outsiders Kuwait are building up in front of Austria's handball team at the start of the World Championship in Porec, a must-win should pave the way into the main round. Without their injured captain Mykola Bilyk, the ÖHB team cannot afford to be arrogant. Red-White-Red have been warned since the mixed test tournament in Poland. "You have to take Kuwait seriously," said oldie Janko Bozovic, a legionnaire in the emirate for three years.

Janko Bozovic

(Bild: GEPA)

At the biblical age of 39, Bozovic is still one of the team's mainstays at right back, and at club level the globetrotter (with 17 clubs in 12 countries since 2011) is "gilding" his late career in Kuwait. Between 2022 and 2024 at Al-Sulaibikhat, now at Khaitan SC. Being a legionnaire is limited to seven months a year, with all championship matches being played in the same hall. The 6,000-seater arena is never full, "between 1,000 and 2,000 spectators come to top matches".

Future uncertain
Bozovic lives in a hotel apartment, but his family, who live in Emsdetten (Germany), are far away from him. "I don't know if I'll hang on for another year," said the Viennese, son of former Hypo great Stanka Bozovic. The oil-rich country certainly has a lot to offer financially. The 2.04m man, who could become the sixth Austrian to break the international 200 at the World Cup, emphasized that he could earn two to three times as much on average. A few months ago, a second ÖHB player found his way to Kuwait in the form of his positional colleague in the team, Boris Zivkovic. He plays for league rivals Al-Qurain.

Boris Zivkovic

(Bild: GEPA pictures)

Focus on own shortcomings
It is not least the knowledge of the two that should help team boss Ales Pajovic and "co" Erwin Gierlinger in the run-up to the first World Cup match. Kuwait, who are playing without legionnaires, are comparatively unorthodox, relying on offensive cover variants and speed. Of course, it is less the strength of the 2024 Asian Championship runners-up than their own shortcomings that must worry the Austrians. "If we play so inconsistently against Kuwait, we'll suffer a defeat right at the start," warned pivot Lukas Herburger after the performances in Poland.

Team boss Ales Pajovic

(Bild: GEPA pictures)

In Plock, there was a 32:30 win against Tunisia as well as defeats against the hosts (19:31) and Japan (27:28) - with Bilyk, the team was missing a stabilizing factor who always takes control, especially in tricky situations. Especially "we have a bit of a problem in attack without Niko," admitted Pajovic. Not least because of this, he wanted "good defending and lots of easy goals". Wing Sebastian Frimmel, who is acting as interim captain in Croatia, called for "a lot of patience in offense. Then nothing stands in the way of a win."

Hoping for the EM flow
They are still a long way from the flow of the last European Championship, which led to a historic eighth place. "You can't force that. There were a lot of special moments back then. We have to live in the here and now," said Frimmel ahead of the duels with Kuwait, Asian champions Qatar (Thursday/20.30) and six-time world champions France (Saturday/18.00/both live on ORF 1). "It's difficult to repeat that. We have to approach the tasks in a new way. A win over Kuwait can give us a push. An opening win and the main round must actually be a must for us."