Austria's handball men fight for World Cup preparation in Poland!

Austria's handball men fight for World Cup preparation in Poland!

Austria's handball men are faced with an important stage because they are preparing for the World Cup that begins in Croatia on January 14th. In the first game of the four-nation tournament in Plock, Poland, however, they had to accept a bitter 19:31 defeat against the hosts. Without her injured captain Mykola Bilek, the team of coach Ales Pajovic was unable to play out her usual strengths. Pajovic emphasized that the early meeting was better than in the decisive World Cup moment and called on his players to show more physical presence and act more patiently. Especially after a weak second half, the lack of Bilyk, which suffers from a muscle injury, was clearly noticeable, as the report by krone.at makes it clear.

preparation for the WM

With regard to the upcoming games against Tunisia and Japan, who also take part in the World Cup, Pajovic sees a real chance to adapt to the challenges of the finals. "I expect valuable minutes of deployment for those who get the chance today," said Pajovic before the games that take place on Thursday and Friday. The opponents each bring their own games, since both Tunisia and Japan have been successful in the past. The encounters should help the Austrians to prepare for the first group games against Kuwait and Qatar as possible, as reported Laola1.at.

Despite the setbacks in the first encounter, Pajovic remains optimistic. His team, who shone with a historical eighth place at the last EM in January 2024, is determined to successfully cut off even without their leading player. In the next few days, special care will be taken to improve structure and dynamics in the game in order to have a chance in the decisive World Cup moment in the main round.