Playing only 39 minutes, Mathias Gidsel highlighted his debut at the IHF Men’s Super Globe with a 13-goal outing, being the best scorer of the match against San Fernando HB, won by Füchse Berlin, 48:34.

GROUP B
San Fernando HB (ARG) vs Füchse Berlin (GER) 34:48 (19:23)

In his debut at the IHF Men’s Super Globe, the top scorer of the 2023 IHF Men’s World Championship, right back Mathias Gidsel, needed only 21 minutes to score 10 times, as he was impossible to stop by San Fernando HB.

But whoever thought that Gidsel’s side, Füchse Berlin, would be 10 goals up by that time, would have been mistaken, as the Argentinian side delivered a superb and gutsy performance, even taking the lead at one point, 13:12, after a 3:0 unanswered run, which prompted Füchse’s coach, Jaron Siewert, to take a time-out.

This was definitely not what Siewert or Füchse envisioned before the game, especially as San Fernando were coming after a painful 29:41 loss against Kuwait SC in the first match. But the South American side used a very aggressive approach, with a 3-2-1 defence, as well as a seven-on-six attack, which definitely surprised Füchse a few times.

Yet this approach also yielded results for the reigning champions of the EHF European League Men, with Gidsel scoring plenty of goals with fast throw-offs, as San Fernando failed to really make the change between the outfield player and the returning goalkeeper as fast as needed.

Therefore, as Füchse adapted, they took control of the match, with Gidsel finishing the first half with 12 goals, as the German side had a 23:19 lead, enough for them to create a larger lead, in spite of Siewert reverting to some players from the bench for the second half, handing his starters a much-needed rest.

Gidsel did finish the match with 13 goals, three goals short of the record for the best individual performance in history at the IHF Men’s Super Globe, set by Hassan Kaddah and Ali Saleh, with 16 goals, in the previous edition.

But that did not mean that Füchse did not keep the rhythm and even bettered their attacking performance from the first half, with everything working like a well-oiled machine, especially the fast breaks, which were converted by Hans Lindberg or Jerry Tollbring.

The 4:0 run to start the second half for the German side was the pivotal moment of the match, as the gap grew to seven goals, then even higher, eventually the game being sealed by the German side, 48:34.

Füchse, one of the favourites to win the competition, also secured their largest win at the IHF Men’s Super Globe, while also vastly improving their record of goals scored in a single match in the competition, 33, set in 2017 against Brazilian side EC Pinheiros.

On the other hand, Gidsel, with his 13 goals, jumped directly to the second place in the top goal scorer standings, just behind Al Najma’s Mohamed Ahmed, who scored 17 times in the two matches the Bahraini side played so far.

hummel Player of the Match: Mathias Gidsel (Füchse Berlin)