The match was a nail-biter from start to finish, with Hungary holding a narrow 13-12 lead at halftime.Continue reading
The Hungarian men’s handball team fulfilled their goal of reaching the quarterfinals of the World Championship as they defeated Qatar 29-23 in the last round of the semifinals in Varazdin (Croatia) on Saturday.
The Hungarians progressed from the group stage with two wins and a draw, losing 37-30 to European champions France on Tuesday and then beating Austria 29-26 on Thursday in the semifinal.
Bence Imre was the top scorer in the field with nine goals, while Kristóf Palasics, who finished with 11 saves, was named the best player in the field.
On the other side, Zarko Markovic scored six times, Irhad Alihodzic made two saves and Anadin Sulijakovic eight. In the fourth game between the two teams, Hungary won for the fourth time.
Right winger Bence Imre said after the game that, like against Austria, Hungary started badly on Saturday, with ten shots being missed in the 18th minute. Imre added that this time the reason for the poor start was not a lack of concentration, as everyone knew the stakes of the game and they were also aware that they were facing an opponent that is always very dangerous. As for the second half, he said that defense and goalkeeping were the keys to success, that is why they were able to win the game again.
We have to play better than that, but I think we have one of the best defenses in the World Championship,”
he said.
After the match, national team coach Chema Rodríguez said they deserved to reach the quarterfinals for the third year in a row. “This tournament shows how difficult it is to reach the last eight, as several big teams have failed achieve this,” he said. “We started like our previous games with a lot of bad shots. We were surprised that they stepped out on us so much and they packed the midfield.
We were under a lot of pressure, but we found a solution at the break and from then on our attacking play worked,”
the coach explained.
The quarterfinal will be played on Tuesday at 18:00 p.m. in Zagreb against co-host Croatia. Hungary and Croatia last met in January last year, with Hungary winning the European Championship semifinal 29-26. The overall record is 20 Croatian wins and five draws, with 11 Hungarian victories.
Via MTI, Featured image: MTI/Illyés Tibor