Handball World Cup ticker:

Austria vs Qatar – LIVE from 20:30

ÖHB captain Seppo Frimmel

(Bild: GEPA/GEPA pictures)

Second matchday for Austria's handball team at the World Championship preliminary round in Porec. Ales Pajovic's team will face Qatar, we will be reporting live from 8.30 pm - see ticker below.

Here is the live ticker:

After their successful World Cup opener, Austria's handball team are keen to pick up the next points against Qatar. They would be worth their weight in gold, especially with a view to the main round to follow, and Tuesday's win over Kuwait means that the ticket for the top 24 is almost certainly in the bag. Circle player Tobias Wagner spoke of "great relief" in the team and the desire for more: "Now we can lay a good foundation for a successful main round."

Memories of 2015 come flooding back
Qatar - there was something. In 2015, Austria faced the hosts in the round of 16 at the World Cup in the emirate - and felt the class of the numerous naturalized players as well as the home advantage. The - paid - claqueurs of the Qataris whipped them to a 29:27 victory and ultimately to the final, where France were too strong after all.

"Legionnaire squad" including impulsive coach
Qatar is currently a long way from such successes. And even though it is no longer possible to change nations at short notice, they still rely on players who were born outside Qatar. The Montenegrin Zarko Markovic or the Cuban Rafael Capote and 2021 World Cup top scorer Frankis Marzo, to name just three. In 2016, Janko Bozovic, who missed out on Monday, also had a relevant offer during his Qatar "excursion", but he turned it down at the time. "I didn't have to think twice," he said recently.

Janko Bozovic

(Bild: GEPA)

On the sidelines, however, the Qataris have bought again, hiring one of the big names in Veselin Vujovic. The former world handball player, who turns 64 on Saturday, is considered a controversial, impulsive character. Tales of tantrums, brawls and even an accusation of manipulation have stuck in the collective memory of handball fans. The globetrotter still enjoys legendary status in the Balkans.

Veselin Vujovic

(Bild: AFP/APA/Anne-Christine POUJOULAT)

"He's a motivator, not a tactician," said ÖHB team boss Ales Pajovic, who noted a certain mellowness in Vujovic. In 2003, he had followed the charismatic player's call to Ciudad Real, but after a long ban for a brawl in the European Cup, Vujovic was no longer able to enjoy his training sessions.

Pajovic's troops underdogs
The fact that Qatar suffered a clear 19:37 defeat against France on Tuesday is no advantage for Wagner. "They will be shouted at to the last and want to show that they are not 18 goals worse than France and better than us," predicted Wagner. For Pajovic, the opponents are at least "slight favorites", especially as the absence of captain Mykola Bilyk and Bozovic weighs heavily and significantly reduces the options in attack.

Ales Pajovic

(Bild: Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

"We have to play a bit differently, go into the duels more. Throws from ten meters are no longer so easy," emphasized Pajovic, whose team had a comparatively easy game against Kuwait's physically clearly inferior defence. Despite all the tactical considerations: "If we want to have a chance of reaching the quarter-finals, then we have to win this game," said Wagner.