FC Barcelona opened their account at the 2023 IHF Men’s Super Globe with a clear win against Al-Noor, 43:19, as the most decorated side in the history of the competition started their quest for the sixth title.

GROUP A
Al-Noor (KSA) vs FC Barcelona (ESP) 19:43 (10:20)

The current iteration of the Barcelona squad is by no means as star-studded or as experienced as the ones which dominated the IHF Men’s Super Globe between 2017 and 2019, becoming the first in history to three-peat in the competition.

But that does not mean that the Spanish side lacks the firepower or drive, as proven this season in the EHF Champions League Men, where Barça conceded only one loss in their first six matches, dominating their group.

They surely translated that form here, at the IHF Men’s Super Globe, where they opened their account with a big win against Al-Noor, the Saudi hosts, which became the second team to be eliminated from contention for a semi-finals berth, after San Fernando HB, conceding their second loss in as many matches.

However, it was not necessarily an easy game for Barça in the first 15 minutes, as Al-Noor goalkeeper, Marouen Maggaiz, frustrated the Spanish side several times, with the gap hovering between four and five goals, with Barca leading 10:6 after 13 minutes.

But when Barça’s defence started forcing turnovers from Al-Noor’s attacks, the fast breaks piled, yet the efficiency was not as high as the Spanish side would have wanted, with three misses from Aitor Arino and one from Blaz Janc.

Yet there was no question about the winner, as when Barcelona pushed the pedal, the gap starting to grew. First to 10 goals at the break and then higher and higher as the game progressed, with Al-Noor failing to get anything going in their attack, in spite of the chances they had.

Only three players – goalkeeper Gonzalo Perez de Vargas and outfield players Jaime Gallego Munoz and Thiagus dos Santos Petrus – failed to score at least a goal for Barcelona, which sealed a clear 43:19 win, their 28th in 31 matches at the IHF Men’s Super Globe. Right wings Aleix Gomez Abello and Blaz Janc were the game’s top scorers, with seven goals each, followed by Pol Valera and Hampus Wanne, with six goals each.

While Al-Noor lost their second game in a row in two days and are eliminated from contention, Barcelona are now preparing for their decisive clash in this group against Egyptian side Al-Ahly.

With Al-Ahly taking a 38:20 win against Al-Noor on Tuesday, Barcelona will definitely have a strong challenge on their hands, but also have the advantage of a draw, as they won against the Saudi hosts by a larger margin.

hummel Player of the Match: Pol Valera Rovira (FC Barcelona)