Qatar’s Mahmoud Hassab Alla in action yesterday.
Doha: Reigning Asian champions Qatar yesterday moved into the second round of the 27th IHF Men’s Handball World Championship - Egypt 2021 after a thrilling 31-29 victory over Japan at Borg Al Arab Sports Hall, Alexandria.
Qatar goalkeeper Danijel Saric, who didn’t have a save in the first half, stopped a Japan penalty one minute before the final buzzer to lift Qatar to their second straight win in Group C. It was another outstanding performance by the Valero Rivera-coached side in the final session that handed them a close win over their spirited Asian rivals, who stunned European giants Croatia with a 29-29 draw in their opening match.
“I am proud of the players’ performance as they proved their ability to beat their opponents and reach the main round of the World Championship,” Rivera said after the game.
“Despite losing a number of talented players due to injury, we performed well and snatched the victory,” he added.
Right-back Frankis Marzo emerged as star performer for Qatar as he claimed the ‘Player of the Match Award’ after a superb performance during the game, scoring 11 goals from 16 tries.
It was a sea-saw contest right from the beginning, with Japan taking a 16:15 advantage in the first period following a lot of tense action.
But, Qatar bounced back in the second half like they did in their 30:25 win over Angola in their first match to grab victory.
Qatar, began flawless in attack, recording a 100 shot percentage in the first 18 minutes of the game. Player of the Match Marzo was unstoppable, scoring seven of his eleven goals in the first 30 minutes. He also added five assists. The goalkeepers struggled in the first 30 minutes but that would change in the second half.
Marzo brought the score level at 16:16 right after break as a part of a five-goal Qatar run in the first five minutes. But, Japan responded with a tactical change, marking top scorer Marzo and in doing so halted the Qatar attack for eight minutes.
At 26:26 with eight minutes left, it was still anybody’s game. However, it was Mohamed Abidi’s time to shine between the posts as he saved three shots in a row. His partner Saric then saved a crucial penalty shot in the last minute, giving Qatar a 31:29 victory.
“We showed a big heart when we took the game in the last minutes. The Japanese team is a very different team now, as they are getting better and better and I’m just happy for the team,” said Abidi after the match.
Dagur Sigurdsson’s team know they made mistakes at the end of the match.
“We finally got into our gear in the second half and played emotionally, but we made mistakes at the end and they were expensive as you can’t do mistakes at the end. We are growing and we have to concentrate on Angola now,” said the Japan coach after the match.
“Qatar played a very good game as the game was difficult. We prepare the current squad for four years and we are on the right way to develop our performance,” he added.
Qatar will face Croatia in the third round of Group C games tomorrow, while Japan will take on Angola in the same day.
Meanwhile, Argentina managed to reach the main round, thanks to a narrow 24:21 win against Bahrain yesterday in Cairo. The first period ended with the South American side two goals ahead with a score of 12:10, as both sides started slow and came up against two strong defences.
The second period saw both teams turn the table on each other, as Bahrain managed to take the lead 11 minutes into play before Argentina eventually regained the lead 3 minutes from time, going on to widen the gap to three goals by the end of the match.
