Handball Team Advances to World Championship Semifinals as Group Leader
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The Hungarian men’s handball team defeated the Netherlands 36-32 in the last round of the World Championship group stage in Varazdin (Croatia) on Sunday, taking three points into the semifinals. Hungarian left wing player Bendegúz Bóka said the Hungarian players’ heart and brain was in the right place to beat their opponents and progress as group leaders.
“It was a very hard-fought game, but fortunately we emerged as the better team. There were ‘punches’ on both sides, but we expected nothing less, as the stakes were to finish top of the group,” Bendegúz Bóka, who scored six goals, told MTI.
Bóka said that
national team head coach Chema Rodríguez had a very good grasp of the things that could be effective against the Dutch, the defense was “brutally good” and the opponent had a tough job.
Head coach Chema Rodriguez. Photo: MTI/Illyés Tibor
In the second half, the difference was mostly between two and four goals in favor of the Hungarians, and they could even attack for a five-goal lead at one point. However, in the second half the Dutch started to catch up.
We were able to respond with a goal and go two, three and then four goals up. Everyone gave their best and we are very happy to have won the group,”
said Bóka.
Ilic Zoran (R) and Netherland’s goalkeeper Bart Ravensbergen. Photo: MTI/Illyés Tibor
Adrián Sipos, a key man on defense, sad that it is difficult to prepare for the Dutch, as they play very fast handball, they score a lot of goals by pushing, have a lot of one-on-one situations, and they fight for a lot of penalties.
We were able to come up with a very good defensive performance, which gave our attack a lot of confidence and we executed very well,”
said Sipos, player of German Bundesliga leaders MT Melsungen.
Gergő fazekas (L) and Netherland’s Lars Kooij. Photo: MTI/Illyés Tibor
The Hungarians, who are aiming to reach the quarter-finals, drew 27-27 with Northern Macedonia on Wednesday and beat Guinea 35-18 on Friday to secure their place in the group. In the semifinals they will face European champions France on Tuesday, Austria on Thursday and Qatar on Saturday. The top two finishers will advance to the quarter-finals.
The final standings:
1. HUNGARY – 5 points,
2. Netherlands – 4,
3. North Macedonia – 3,
4. Guinea – 0
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