Key highlights of the day: The calm before the storm

24 Jan. 2023

Key highlights of the day: The calm before the storm

The first rest day after a marathon of 13 days is upon us at the 2023 IHF Men’s World Championship. Still, there is no room for complacency now, as the quarter-finals are looming, with the four deciders being scheduled for Wednesday 25 January.

Until then, let’s take a look back at what happened on Monday, the last day of the main round at Poland/Sweden 2023, when the final quarter-final berths were awarded and the final standings and pairings for the knock-out phase were decided.

In Group IV, Denmark extended their unbeaten run to 25 matches, tying the longest-ever streak in the history of the IHF Men’s World Championship by clearly dominating Egypt in a rematch of the epic quarter-final from two years ago, at Egypt 2021. The 30:25 win helped the reigning world champions clinch first place in the group as Croatia were eliminated despite their win against Bahrain.

Group III also had an exciting match to end the matches in Katowice on a high, as Torbjørn Bergerud registered 12 saves in the second half to frustrate Germany and help Norway seal a 28:26 win, clinching first place in the group.

In the President’s Cup, we also know the final, with Tunisia and Chile fighting for the prize after the African side took a 30:25 win against Algeria.

We have explained the mechanism for the knock-out phase here, with the quarter-finals pairings being now set and scheduled for Wednesday, with a handy explainer of how the semi-finals will work in terms of the venues. 

We talked about Denmark’s amazing run, but how did they extend it at Poland/Sweden 2023? A mix of experience and youth was required, and we looked for the ingredients for success in this feature.

The Netherlands might have been one of the surprise packages at Poland/Sweden 2023, with some key players shining. The supporting cast has also been superb, as line player Samir Benghanem, who splits his time between handball and his job as a financial advisor, having an excellent championship.

All the statistics, tailor-made for everyone, are just one click away, so you can follow your favourite player and see who’s the best scorer, the best assists provider and the best goalkeeper. 

The top goal scorer of the championship is Chile’s Erwin Feuchtmann with 46 goals, one goal more than Iceland’s Bjarki Már Elísson and two goals more than Dutch right back Kay Smits. Elísson and Smits, however, are out of the competition.

Don’t forget you can also win prizes by predicting the results of the matches at Poland/Sweden 2023.

The IHF is working hard to bring you the very best from what is sure to be an exciting competition, and wherever you are, there are many ways to follow the action! Make sure you stay up to date, follow our social media channels and find out which was the pic of the day and the best actions of the day! 

You can also check the best plays from the first day on our Facebook and Instagram accounts, with plenty of mouthwatering goals ready to be seen. Saves galore? Yes, USA have got you covered.