Veszprém HC secured their maiden win at the 2024 IHF Men’s Club World Championship, with a dominating performance against Handebol Taubaté, 43:17, as the Brazilian side are now sure to finish third in the group, after conceding two losses in the two matches they played so far.

GROUP A
Veszprém HC (HUN) vs Handebol Taubaté (BRA) 43:17 (22:6)

In their first match at the IHF Men’s Club World Championship after a nine-year hiatus, Veszprém HC produced their best first half in history in the competition, with a flawless attacking performance and a great display from goalkeeper Mike Jensen to keep Handebol Taubaté at bay.

The Brazilian side produced the same topsy-turvy display like in the first half against Zamalek SC, when they went down by 12 goals, scoring only six times. This time around, they were down by 16 goals, also scoring six goals, after Jensen produced one of his best matches in recent years, with a 66% saving efficiency.

The Danish shot stopper had 12 saves, while in attack, the Hungarian side was fantastic, converting 76% of their shots, with nine players scoring at least one goal, chief of which was left wing Bjarki Mar Elisson, who had eight goals under his belt, two more than the entire Taubaté team.

As Taubaté had a scoring efficiency two times lower than Veszprém, with the Hungarian side averaging an attack of 19.5 seconds, 20 seconds less than the Brazilian side, the gap ballooned. Xavi Pascual’s side put together runs of 5:0 and 8:0, to open a 16-goal gap at the break, which increased in the second half.

Against Zamalek, Taubaté went down by 16 goals, only to cut the Egyptian side’s lead to five goals at the end of the match, but this time around, there was not the slightest chance Veszprém would ever back down, constantly pushed by their coach, Xavi Pascual.

As a result, the gap continued to grow higher and higher, a stark contrast of the previous meeting between the two sides, in 2015, when Veszprém only clinched a three-goal win, 27:24, in the quarter-finals of the competition.

This time around, the Hungarian champions delivered their largest-ever win in the competition, as well as the largest scoring performance at the IHF Men’s Club World Championship, hitting the 40-goal mark in their 43:17 win, as French left wing Hugo Descat was the match’s top scorer, with 10 goals, just a tad lower than the entire Taubaté team.

Veszprém are now top of their group, with the same number of points as Zamalek, but a bigger goal difference than the Egyptian side, which means a draw tomorrow when they two teams go head-to-head would be enough for the Hungarian side to progress to the semi-finals from the first place in the group.

With their second loss in as many matches, Taubaté finished on the third place and are sure to head to the Placement Matches, aiming for a higher finish, which can be achieved with wins in their last two matches at the 2024 IHF Men’s Club World Championship.

Player of the Match: Mike Jensen (Veszprém HC)