Austria starts spectacularly in the Handball World Cup with victory over Kuwait!

Austria starts spectacularly in the Handball World Cup with victory over Kuwait!

Austria's handball men started the 2025 handball championship with flying colors and a convincing 37:26 victory via Kuwait. Despite the challenges, such as the failures of captain Mykola Bilyk and Janko Bozovic, who canceled shortly before the game due to a meniscus injury, the team of head coach Ales Pajovic was combative. The opening victory secured the Austrians an almost tangible ticket for the main round, such as noen.at reported.

In the first section, the players of Red-Weiß-Rot struggled against the surprisingly lively and nimble-acting Kuwaitis. Goalkeeper Constantin Möstl was instrumental in the fact that Austria was in the lead with two goals at halftime. "It was a bit of a hard way to success," admitted Möstl on ORF. A held seven-meter campaign in the 11th minute was particularly crucial because it prevented the possible deficit. Even if the Austrians in the meantime led 13: 9 and 17:13, Kuwait continued to be able to keep the distance low.

Dominate Second half ensures the victory

In the second half, the Austrian team showed their superiority. "In the first half, the defense was a bit too defensive and we didn't use some chances in the attack. But in the second half we showed that we are the better team," said Pajovic. At the latest with the 28:21 lead in the 43rd minute it was clear that the Kuwaiti resistance was broken. Pajovic was able to give all players with deployment time, which further strengthens the team spirit. Sports director Patrick Fölser said pleased: "We are now super happy. That was the start that we hoped for." With the top esteemed advertisers Frimmel, Damböck, Zivkovic and Wagner, each scored five goals, the focus is now aimed at the next important game against Qatar, which is looking for reparation after a clear defeat against France, like Sn.at reported.