Qatar players celebrtae after defeating Japan on Sunday.
Doha: Qatar coach Valero Rivera yesterday expressed his delight at the performances of his players ahead of their third and final Group match of the 27th IHF Men’s Handball World Championship - Egypt 2021. Asian giants Qatar booked a place in the main round of the 32-team event and will take on European giants Croatia today. Qatar started their Group campaign with a thrilling 30-25 win over Angola at Borg Al Arab Sports Hall, the designated venue for Group C matches. On Sunday, Qatar clinched a thrilling 31-29 victory over Japan, who stunned two-time Olympic champions and former World Champions Croatia with a 29-29 draw in their opening match.
“We provided a great level despite the big number of absences in our ranks. We suffered a little from the numerical shortage we had to go through,” Rivera said after Qatar raised their points tally to 4. The Spanish coach added: “I am happy to win two out of two matches and now our focus is on Croatia at the end of the preliminary round.”
Former champions Croatia are in need of full points to confirm a berth in the main round, as they are currently placed second in Group C, two points ahead of Japan who face Angola today. For Qatar, it will be a battle to prove who's best in Group C.
“We did not change our plans after watching Japan’s surprise against Croatia, but we focused on our strengths and our return to action was wonderful,” Rivera commented yesterday. Qatari player Amin Zakar said that facing strong Croatia will be difficult, but Al Annabi will seek to continue their good performances in the World Championship, having already made it to the next stage.
“Despite the absence of many players, we managed to qualify for the second round. We won over Angola in the first round and then we won over the strong Japanese national team. I consider this victory to be the natural result of the effort exerted by the team, especially with the absence of a large number of important players,” Zakar said, adding that his team will seek to overcome the challenge poised by the former champions today.
Meanwhile, Croatian player Luka Sebitic yesterday admitted that facing Qatar 'will not be easy', but his team will hope for a successful outcome. The match will kick off at 8:00pm Qatar time. Yesterday, France, Portugal and Sweden marched into the main round with perfect records in their respective groups. North Macedonia, Russian Handball Federation, Slovenia and hosts Egypt also made it to the next stage. Meanwhile, Cape Verde have officially informed the IHF that they withdraw from the World Championship following challenges which already led to the cancellation of their match against Germany on Sunday. The IHF have accepted their withdrawal, which safeguards the health of all stakeholders involved in the World Championship. The competition rules state that each team needs to have a minimum of 10 players including one goalkeeper, which the team failed to abide to. Their matches will be counted as 10:0 forfeit victories for their opponents in the last preliminary round game and the President’s Cup, with the opponents claiming two points.
