For the seventh edition of the IHF Men’s World Championship in a row, Slovenia opened the competition with a win (33:19), converting their chances in a match they dominated from start to finish against Saudi Arabia.

Group B 
Saudi Arabia vs Slovenia 19:33 (8:16)

Superior experience, player featuring in better leagues and a more extensive depth. Slovenia had it all going for them in their opening match at the 28th IHF Men’s World Championship against Saudi Arabia. They took advantage in spades, delivering a clear-cut win against the Asian side.

Back into the fold after missing the cut at Egypt 2021, Saudi Arabia relied on their experienced pair of head coach Jan Pytlick and former world champion with the Brazil women’s senior team, Morten Soubak, currently Pytlick’s assistant, to take something from the match.

But at the end of the day, neither Pytlick nor Soubak were on the court and could only help their team from the bench. And for moments, Saudi Arabia looked like they could play the part. However, their lack of efficiency in front of the goal led to a big lead for Slovenia at the break.

The Asian side could only convert 44% of their shots in the first half, with too many clear-cut, one-on-one misses that hampered their chance to apply some pressure on Slovenia.

On the other hand, Uroš Zorman’s side missed their share of chances but had a better tempo, led by right wing Blaž Janc and left back Aleks Vlah, who each scored four goals, precisely the gap registered on the board at the break (16:8).

Two 3:0 runs and one unanswered 5:0 run were key to taking the match away from Saudi Arabia, as the latter one, which saw the Asian side fail to score at least one goal for 11 minutes and 19 seconds, was fuelled by two goals each from Janc and Vlah.

The start of the second part looked different as Saudi Arabia tried to close the gap, and they managed to do so with a 6:4 start. But the Asian side was still lacking the needed impetus in attack, so Pytlick resorted to a seven-on-six tactic, substituting the goalkeeper for an outfield player in attack.

It was a risky move that played directly into Slovenia’s hands, who converted three easy open-goal shots, with the gap ballooning immediately to 11 goals (25:14), the European side’s wings feasting on the easy goals handed to them by Saudi Arabia.

With the Asian side becoming increasingly tired and their depth failing to cover the need, the gap grew and grew, and Slovenia eventually took a no-nonsense 33:19 win, despite coach Uroš Zorman resting most of his starters in the second half.

It was enough for the European team to start the IHF Men’s World Championship with a win for the seventh time in a row, as their new-look team is starting to look better and better one year into Zorman’s reign.

A clash against co-hosts Poland will follow, which will likely decide the medium-term future for both sides in the competition. On the other hand, Saudi Arabia face the reigning Olympic champions France in their bid to keep the main round berth dream alive.

hummel Player of the Match: Blaž Janc (Slovenia)