Inspired Italy back to winning ways

21 Jan. 2025

Inspired Italy back to winning ways

After losing their last group match against Denmark, Italy opened the main round with a well-deserved victory, their third one in the competition, as they had the upper hand against Czechia, 25:18. 

MAIN ROUND GROUP I
Czechia vs Italia 18:25 (9:14)


Italy took early control of the match, opening up a 5:2 lead in the 10th minute, as right wing Leo Prantner and line player Andrea Parisini led in attack. Moreover, Riccardo Trillini's side was clearly inspired by the agile and aggressive defence as well as by Domenico Ebner, who stood like a wall, boasting a 50% saving rate in the first half. 

Czechia, which reached the main round without a single win and having the least effective attack among the progressing teams - just 58 goals scored in three encounters - , struggled once again. Their goals were far and few between for most of the opening half - as Xavi Sabate's team was constantly denied by Ebner, they failed to find the net between the 16th and 25th minutes, as Italy used a 5:0 run to pull clear to a comfortable 11:4 lead.

In the last five minutes of the half, the Czechs finally woke up and scored more goals than in the entire previous part of the game, slashing the gap to 9:14 at the break. An interesting fact was that all nine of Czechia's goals in the opening 30 minutes were scored by nine different players before Dominik Solak rose to prominence afterwards, ending the match with five goals. 

Czech goalkeeper Tomas Mrkva, who made just three saves in this game, left the court late in the first half after the ball hit his head twice. He was replaced by Jan Hrdlicka, who made his first save nearly 10 minutes after the restart. So Italy continued to dominate, which resulted in a 19:13 lead midway through the second half.

Ebner continued to make saves as the game progressed, as he ultimately stopped 14 balls for a 44% save efficiency. The goalkeeper's heroics further boosted his team's confidence, as Italy cruised to a seven-goal and continued their impressive campaign in style. 

With four points, the Italians, who are playing their first IHF Men's World Championship in this century, stay in fight for a quarter-final spot. On Thursday, they will be tested by Germany, while Czechia will try to claim their first win at the tournament against Tunisia. 

hummel Player of the Match: Domenico Ebner (Italy)