Spain, already qualified for the quarter-finals, admits its first defeat at the World Cup in a duel of maximum rivalry that serves as preparation for the decisive phase
Spain faltered at the only time in the Handball World Cup when it could afford it. Already qualified for the quarter-finals, they lost their first game of the tournament against France, the black beast of the Hispanics who took the game and first place in Group I in the main round. The implications of the setback are minimal as they will have to wait for today’s showdown between Germany and Norway to find their rival, who will be the winner and therefore first in Group III.
There was not much at stake, but a duel between Spain and France is never friendly in the handball world. The countless chapters of the rivalry between the two 40×20 powers prevent relaxation and the first place in the group was at stake. However, with both teams in the quarter-finals, the stakes lost their drama and invited rotations and tests, which I didn’t experiment with, for the final stage.
That the French coach, Guillaume Gille, reserved the legend Nikola Karabatic, and his Spanish counterpart did the same with his starting center back, Agustín Casado, and one of his best defense specialists, Iñaki Peciña, was already enlightening in terms of the meaning of the match despite the attractive poster.
Corrales, Dani Fernández (7), Gideón Guardiola (1), Sánchez-Migallón (1), Odriozola (1), Cañellas (3) and Valera – from seven. Pérez de Vargas (ps.), Ángel Fernández, Figueras, Serdio (4), Ferran Solé (1), Dani Dujshebaev (1), Álex Dujshebaev (2), Garciandia (3) and Maqueda (2).
Gerard, Grébille (3), Fabregas (2), Lenne, Briet (4), Remili (4) and Mem (4) -starting seven-. Desbonnet (PS), Nahi, Tournat (3), Luka Karabatic, Porte (1), Prandi (3), Lagarde, Kentin Mahe (4) and Richardson.
In this context, the game created excellent sensations in the beginning, with two men who had played a lesser role in recent games prominently. The left-hander Garciandia took his powerful shot from over nine yards, while goalkeeper Rodrigo Corrales collected creditable saves in the opposite part of the field. All resources will be scarce in the fight against the best in the world and Jordi Ribera watched with satisfaction as two of his Hispanics carried their trusty backpack against mighty France.
Equivalence and a reduced score, which was largely due to the goalkeepers, set the tone in the first half. Everything was under control as we progressed through the first fifteen minutes as a series of failures by Spain in attack and the success of France’s Remili and Tournat in leading and working the pivot gave France the first significant advantage after a partial attack. 0-4 (6-9).
Only the guts of young left winger Dani Fernández supported Spain, so Ribera stopped the game with a timeout and drew the Dujshebaev brothers to change the dynamic. The reaction was positive, as the defensive intensity and the counterattack seemed to balance again in a game that came to a standstill under the sign of maximum equality (13-13).
Going through the dressing room felt better for Spaniards than for French. The Hispanics doubled their offensive power, with the brilliant multi-purpose Álex Dujshebaev as game generator, and in no time the game was red (19-16). In a duel that was already much smoother than in the first half hour, a situation that resulted from relaxation between two classified teams, the lead was small and slipped away as suddenly as it had come.
The game, which started level (24-24) in the last ten minutes, had his heart rate clearly elevated, in a good test for the deciding stretch of the World Cup, now without a net. The Macedonians Nachevski and Nikolov heavily punished Spain’s defensive toughness, which paid for its numerical inferiorities in the final stretch. Maqueda’s error in a poorly executed substitution and the exclusion of the Toledo winger definitively buried Spain’s options, which became stuck before Vincent saved Gerard and twisted his arm on a 2–4 final run.
Source: La Verdad
I am Shawn Partain, a journalist and content creator working for the Today Times Live. I specialize in sports journalism, writing articles that cover major sporting events and news stories. With a passion for storytelling and an eye for detail, I strive to be accurate and insightful in my work.
