Handball World Cup ticker:
France v Austria – LIVE from 6pm
Ales Pajovic's team will face a handball giant today at the end of the World Championship preliminary group phase. Austria will face France, we will be reporting live from 6pm - see ticker below.
Here is the live ticker:
Despite all adversity, Austria's handball team will head into the main round of the World Championship with two points. The 28:26 victory over Qatar on Thursday paved the way to a rosy starting position that gives the ÖHB team every chance of reaching the quarter-finals. The preliminary round match against record world champions France will be a bonus game in which the Red-White-Red will "reconsider" at least "something".
Captain Mykola Bilyk, right back Janko Bozovic and, since Thursday, Boris Zivkovic, who probably suffered a more serious shoulder injury: the absences weigh heavily, but were made up for with tactical discipline, calmness and a lot of emotion, especially against Qatar. "One fought for the other," said wing Franko Lastro, for example. The 21-year-old Göppingen legionnaire, who made five out of five shots against the Asian champions, proved himself a worthy successor to Robert Weber, who retired in October after 20 years in the team.
Another symbol of the evening was Nemanja Belos. In his 15th international game, the Serbian, who was naturalized in 2023, put in a composed performance that reached its peak in difficult phases in the 7:6 overtime game in the second half. "I feel a bit more relaxed now," said the 30-year-old, who has been scoring for HSG Graz since 2017. He received high praise from team boss Ales Pajovic for his collaboration with playmaker Lukas Hutecek: "The two of them did an outstanding job."
Lots of fun and nothing to lose
Hutecek, for his part, fulfilled his leadership role in the absence of Bilyk. "Our game has changed a lot as a result of the absences," said the Lemgo international, who "is having a lot of fun again" and sees a close-knit community at work. "Our team spirit is what defines us. We live from that."
Whether that will be enough for a world-class team like France, who have been merciless so far (37:19 against Qatar and 43:19 against Kuwait), remains to be seen. In any case, six-time World Cup winners France are a force to be feared, even after the retirement of legend Nikola Karabatic - and after their Olympic disappointment at home last summer. "We'll think of something. We really annoyed them for 50 minutes at the European Championship, we have little to lose," emphasized Hutecek, looking back on the 28:33 defeat after leading 16:15 at the break in the main round of the European Championship in January 2024.
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