In their previous seven IHF Men’s World Championship encounters, Hungary have only beaten Germany once, back in 2011, with all other results ending in defeat (1958, 1967, 1970, 1993, 2009, 2017), but that winning number was doubled on Tuesday night (19 January) as Istvan Gulyas’ men saw off Alfred Gislason’s in a pulsating final few minutes to win 29:28.

Hungary had led for large parts of the first half but let slip a five-goal lead to allow the Germans to lead with 10 minutes remaining in the second, but they turned it around to take the victory and a maximum four points into the main round.

“Everybody knew this would be a tough match and we all knew how important was to win as it would mean taking four points into the next group,” said Gulyas. 

“If I wasn’t the head coach of Hungary, I would maybe say a draw would be well-deserved for Germany. We had a good preparation and we started well, but we had some ups and downs throughout the game. However, up until the end we had hot hearts and cold heads so therefore we could win.”

Hungary had led 15:10 towards the end of the first half, but Germany came back to within one goal at the break, following a late, drama-filled rally. Despite the gap closing, Gulyas and his side were confident they had shown enough going into the second period.

“We missed some chances, a penalty, some one-on-one chances against (German goalkeeper Johannes) Bitter and they, of course, used these chances to come back,” explained Gulyas. “But we were almost ‘satisfied’ at half-time because I thought we played well in the first half. Of course, there were some mistakes, but we spoke and said we had to be more focussed, more concentrated, more patient in the defence and attack.”

His views were echoed by centre back Mate Lekai. “We were talking in the dressing room at half-time that we had played good, and we hadn’t done silly things and made mistakes, so we had confidence,” said the Veszprem player to ihf.info. “But we said that our main goal in the second half was to keep this strict defence because we knew very well this could be key to the victory.”

A line in the sand of Egypt for the fans back home

The hummel Player of the Match went to Hungary’s Bence Banhidi in recognition not only of his eight goals from the line, but the way how he opened up the space for the Hungarian attack to find its way through at crucial times.

After a late time out, and then restart, just the presence of the 107kg, 2,06m MOL-Pick Szeged line player saw Germany’s centre back Sebastian Firnhaber concentrate his focus on Banhidi, allowing for a moment of magic from Mate Lekai to rush in and bury the winner.

“It was very tough, so close for both teams with both having a chance to win the match,” said Lekai. “We did more in the whole match than Germany and the last situation we are so happy with because we scored, but we have to improve every part of our game.

“Bence is one of the best pivots in the world,” said Lekai, who was not surprised about his teammates’ influence. “Last year he was the All-star line player at the European Championship and he’s our best player. We try to use him as much as possible, so I have to say congratulations to him for the award and thanks to him. 

“But we are a team, this is teamwork, of course he is the best player today, but he said already if he’s not the best player, but we win, he’s also very happy.”

Banhidi’s All-star award capped off Hungary’s best European Championship ranking since 2014, when they finished eighth. Last year in Norway, Sweden, and Austria they finished ninth in the newly-expanded 24-team tournament to create a renewed interest in the national team back home.

“We are very happy because the team is very popular now after the European Championships last year,” said Gulyas. “When we travelled to Egypt many journalists told us in Hungary that people trust us [to win], and they are eager for victories. Everybody hopes that we will go back to Hungary as late as possible.”

And despite Egypt 2021 being played behind-closed-doors, the players are still feeling the support from back home.

“We have played all our matches here in Giza at 21:30,” explained Lekai. “In Hungary, because of COVID-19, you have to be at home at 20:00 so everybody, I hope, is watching our matches. Of course, the situation is not the best for them and for us also, and they can’t be here, but we are feeling them behind us, and this is very important.”

As Hungary prepare to face Brazil, Poland, and Spain, Banhidi is full of positivity as Egypt 2021 starts approaching the business end with the 25-year-old full of smiles when talking about his team.

“We fight for each other, even in the moments when Germany took the lead in the second half,” he said. “We were well-disciplined tactically, both in attack and defence, so we have to keep this way for the main round.

“It’s sensational to be part of this team,” he added. “We are fighting like lions and that is what’s keeping us going forward.”