A strong 9:1 start saw Poland create a big gap against the Islamic Republic of Iran, with the European side opening their account at Denmark/Norway/Sweden 2023 with a big win against the Asian side, 35:15.

GROUP F
Poland vs Islamic Republic of Iran 35:15 (18:8)

For the fourth time in the past five editions of the IHF Women’s World Championship, Poland delivered a winning start, with the European side being clearly more experienced than the Islamic Republic of Iran, which were only featuring in the world handball flagship competition for the second time in their history.

A strong Poland start, which saw the European side take a 9:1 lead, prompted a team time-out from Iran’s coach, Gholamali Akbarabadi, which tried to instil new life into his team, which were lagging behind due to their plethora of turnovers, as the Asian side’s backs turned the ball over 18 times, with plenty of steps and misplaced passes ruining any chance of challenging against Poland.

But as goalkeeper Fatemeh Khalili Behfar entered the fray, the Islamic Republic of Iran got better in defence, with Khalili making four saves from the first eight shots she faced, for an outstanding 50% saving efficiency. On the back of those saves, Iran embarked on a 6:4 run, which saw Poland take their first team time-out, as coach Arne Senstad was totally disappointed with the lack of fire his players showed.

As new players entered the court, the 13:7 Poland lead morphed into a 18:8 one at the break, with the European side extending it immediately when the second half started, with another 4:1 run, which saw Iran stopped in their tracks.

The Asian side did bring something extra in attack, usually substituting their goalkeeper for an extra outfield player, a tactic which did have its merit, but also exposed Iran’s open goal plenty of times for Poland to take advantage of, with wings Magda Balsam and Dagmara Nocuń    being the European side’s top scorers, with six goals each. 

Eventually, Poland jumped to a 35:15 win, but Iran did show signs of improvement at times, especially as their back, Fatemeh Merikh, who had previously shined at the 2022 IHF Women’s Youth World Championship, where she finished between the top 10 scorers, had an excellent game, with six goals, leading the Asian side and secured the hummel Player of the Match award.

Poland threw off the 2023 IHF Women’s World Championship in style, but will face Japan and Germany in the next two matches, pivotal moments in their journey at Denmark/Norway/Sweden 2023, with those matches probably deciding how many points will Arne Senstad’s side take into the next phase.

The Islamic Republic of Iran lost their seventh match in eight tries at the IHF Women’s World Championship, with their chances of progression to the main round suffering a big blow, as they will face Germany and Japan in the next matches, being clear underdogs in each of these.

hummel Player of the Match: Fatemeh Merikh (Islamic Republic of Iran)