If Gudmundur Gudmundsson had ever designed a perfect half for Iceland, it would have been the first 30 minutes against Algeria in the New Capital Sports Hall.

A careful mix of inspiration and courage saw the Icelandic side take a commanding 12-goal lead (22:10), never looking back against Algeria, on their way to the 39:24 win.

GROUP F
Algeria vs Iceland 24:39 (10:22)

When you hit 96 per cent of your shots during a single half, there is only one possible outcome: winning the game.

It is precisely what Iceland did against Algeria two days after their loss against Portugal, a lesson for coach Gudmundur Gudmundsson, who challenged his team to improve their shooting and flatten the number of turnovers conceded.

Using everything they had, Iceland scored 22 goals out of 23 shots, as Algerian goalkeepers Khalifa Ghedbane and Abdellah Benmeni only registered one save in the first 30 minutes.

After a strong start, where they could keep the pace with Iceland, Algeria faltered as the Nordic side mounted two 5:1 runs, with the gap soaring at the break (22:10).

Left wing Bjarki Mar Elisson was clearly leading the game for Iceland, scoring nine times in the first half, with Algeria having their sights set already on their last game in Group F, against Portugal on Monday.

With a steady hand at penalties and being flawless on fast breaks, Elisson finished the game with 12 goals and climbed to the second place in the top scorer ranking after two rounds. With 18 goals, he is just three goals behind current top scorer Sander Sagosen.  

There was not much that Gudmundsson could have said to his players at half-time and the Icelandic side were back on the court after a short meeting that took only five minutes.

Surely, the efficiency dipped, as it was impossible to keep up the pace for 60 minutes, but there was little room for Algeria to mount a comeback.

In fact, the Algerian side could not avoid their second most painful loss in the last 45 years at the IHF Men’s World Championship, a 15-goal drubbing (24:39).

It was the first time since Spain 2013 for Iceland to score at least 39 goals in a game, as they won 39:29 against the Czech Republic in the preliminary round eight years ago.

Provided they do not lose on Monday against Morocco, Iceland will progress to the main round and will take at least two points, while the African side have only one scenario: the win.

hummel Player of the Match: Bjarki Mar Elisson, Iceland

Photo: Egypt 2021