Insider tip Iceland struggled against Portugal in its opening match at the Handball World Championships in Sweden and Poland. The team around Omar Ingi Magnusson and Gisli Thorgeir Kristjansson from the German champions SC Magdeburg finally won the heated duel on Thursday (12.01.23) by 30:26 (15:15).
Bjarki Mar Elisson was Iceland’s dominating man with nine goals. Previously, Hungary beat South Korea 35:27 (21:11) in the heavily occupied Group D. Spain had a little less trouble. In the top game of group A, the two-time world champion beat Montenegro 30:25 (15:12), but despite his half-time lead, he was not able to break away clearly for a long time. Only in the final minutes did the favorite ensure a clear result.
Also Sweden with opening success
European champions Sweden started their home World Cup with a win. The four-time champion clearly beat Brazil 26:18 (11:9) in Gothenburg after a balanced first half. The top scorer of the nine Bundesliga players in Sweden was Jim Gottfridsson from Flensburg (six goals).
German referees officiate Cape Verde’s game against Uruguay
Despite a turbulent night leading up to the game, the Cape Verde handball players celebrated their first World Cup victory ever. The Africans won their opening game against Uruguay on Thursday (01/12/2023) with 33:25 (17:11) and are about to enter the main round, which the three best-placed teams in each group reach.
The game was a German World Cup premiere: with the siblings Maike Merz and Tanja Kuttler, two German referees officiated for the first time in World Cup history at a men’s finals.
Wooden beds cannot withstand the weight of the players
In the night from Monday to Tuesday there was excitement because six players had to change hotels at night. The reason: the beds in the crew accommodation had crashed together. The Swedish newspaper “Aftenbladet” reported on this on Tuesday.
“I don’t understand what the hotel was thinking! Some of the players are two meters tall and weigh over 100 kilograms. Despite this, they had to lie in wooden bunk beds, which then collapsed.”, Nilton Delgado told the paper. The 49-year-old businessman, along with other supporters, is sponsoring the stay of the Africans at the World Handball Championship. Other preliminary round opponents are European champions Sweden and Brazil.
Hungary and Slovenia with clear victories
In other games, Hungary defeated South Korea 35:27 (21:11) and Chile lost to Iran 24:25 (11:13). In addition, Saudi Arabia lost against Slovenia with 19:33 (38:16), yesterday in Group B France had defeated Poland with 26:24 (14:13).