Parisians all through to Main round
The 2019 World Cup group stage wrapped up on Thursday night in Germany and Denmark - with all 12 Parisians representing their respective countries making it through to the Main round.
The final rankings of the 26th IHF Men's World Championship preliminary round! Now on to the next stage, beginning on Saturday 🔥#handball19 #GERDEN2019 pic.twitter.com/QH0M6YBBiv
— IHF (@ihf_info) 17 janvier 2019
France - Russia: 23-22
Les Bleus had a rough time against Russia on Thursday. Despite the return of Nikola Karabatic in his 300th cap fro France, they were chasing the match for long stretches. Three goals down just ten minutes from time (19-22), they conjured four unanswered goals in the dying moments to win by the narrowest of margins. The Experts now head into the Main round with three points after their win over Brazil and draw against Germany. They play Spain on Saturday in the Main round opener - a remake of the recent Euros final in Croatia.
Germany - Serbia: 31-23
Germany also made it through to the Main round, clinching a win in their last group-stage match despite heavily rotating their squad. Uwe Gensheimer (two goals) watch on for the main part as his teammates controlled the match and now Germany also into the next round with three points. First up: Iceland.
Die heiße WM-Phase kann beginnen! Das DHB-Team beendet die Vorrunde mit einem 31:23-Sieg gegen Serbien. Erster Hauptrundengegner am Samstag ist Island, ehe es gegen Kroatien und Spanien geht. #zdfhandballwm pic.twitter.com/l8eY1LOdIZ
— ZDF Sport (@ZDFsport) 17 janvier 2019
Spain - Croatia: 19-23
It was one of the two big final-day group-stage clashes. Spain and Croatia were both defending unbeaten records in the tournament and it was a spectacular match. Croatia led for 40 or more minutes, however, and ran out winners with Luka Stepancic (three goals) and his teammates topping Group B. They hit the Main round with four points while Viran Morros, Rodrigo Corrales and Spain have two.
Macedonia - Iceland: 22-24
Raul Gonzalez's Macedonia were beaten by Iceland failed to clinch a place in the Main round. Dejan Manaskov and Kiril Lazarov each hit five goals but it wasn't enough for Macedonia to stay on top - despite being leading all the way through to the 35th minute (16-15). The final 20 minutes saw the Parisian coach's charges crack and they will now contest the President's Cup.
Denmark - Norway: 30-26
The other big clash of the day saw Denmark and Norway slug it out for top spot on Group C. Denmark came out on top, thanks in no small part to a mammoth performance from Mikkel Hansen…
The Parisian left-back brought the full weight of his talent to bear in this match, bagging an incredible 14 goals as Denmark led from beginning to end, at times by a huge margin (43': 25-16). This fifth-straight win sends the Danes through the Main round with four points while Norway progress with just two. They take on Hungary and Egypt respectively in their next appearances.
Sweden - Hungary: 33-30
Kim Ekdahl Du Rietz's Sweden continued their flawless run in the competition, with the Parisian scoring twice. However, it was Hungary who dominated in the first half, but the Yellow and Blues got their measure and broke clear in the second half. Sweden carry four points into the Main round, where they face Tunisia on Saturday.
The Parisians' Main round fixtures:
Saturday 19 January 2019
- France - Spain 17:00 (Cologne)
- Tunisia - Sweden 17:00 (Herning)
- Denmark - Hungary 19:30 (Herning)
- Germany - Iceland 19:30 (Cologne)
Sunday 20 January 2019
Brazil - Croatia 17:00 (Cologne)
Iceland - France 19:30 (Cologne)
Norway - Egypt 19:30 (Herning)
Monday 21 January 2019
Sweden - Norway 17:00 (Herning)
Spain - Brazil 17:00 (Cologne)
Egypt - Denmark 19:30 (Herning)
Croatia - Germany 19:30 (Cologne)
Wednesday 23 January 2019
France - Croatia 17:00 (Cologne)
Norway - Hungary 17:00 (Herning)
Germany - Spain 19:30 (Cologne)
Denmark - Sweden 19:30 (Herning)