Spain join France in Placement Matches 9-12, while Japan and Norway secure places in the Top 20

Spain headed to the Placement Matches 9-12 with a clear win against Tunisia, 40:29, a dominating attacking performance, which improves the reigning European champions’ chances for a place in the top 10 at the end of the competition.
 
Meanwhile, Japan extended their winning streak to four games with a clear 37:30 win over Algeria, taking a place in the Placement Matches 17-20, while Norway had to sweat against Saudi Arabia but eventually followed Japan in the same position with a 35:22 win.

Placement Matches 9-16

• Tunisia vs Spain 29:40 (12:21)

Two mishaps in the preliminary round and the main round – against the Faroe Islands and Portugal – saw Spain out of contention for a medal, as the reigning European champions were left reeling at Germany/Greece 2023.
 
But this did not mean that Spain were not going to try to finish the competition on a high and break into the top 10 places. However, they needed to secure two wins, against Tunisia and France in the Placement Matches 9-16, as Spain took the court in the Max-Schmeling-Halle in Berlin with big ambitions.
 
Those big ambitions translated into a win against Tunisia, as the start of the game was flawless for the European side, with the converted fast breaks by Carlos Alvarez Dominguez creating a huge gap after Spain went on an excellent 11:3 run to open a nine-goal lead.
 
Captain Kousay Ben Fraj replied with eight goals for Tunisia, but it was little that the African team could do after they went down at the break by nine goals, 21:12. While Tunisia tried to mount a comeback, Spain proved too strong for their opponents.
 
Backed by an 11-goal outing from Alvarez, the hummel Player of the Match, Spain delivered a 40:29 win, which saw the reigning European champions heading to the Placement Matches 9-12, where they face France, while Brazil meet Tunisia on Thursday in the Placement Matches 13-16.
 
hummel Player of the Match: Carlos Alvarez Dominguez (Spain)

Placement Match 17-24

• Norway vs Saudi Arabia 35:22 (15:11) 

The Norwegians extended their winning streak to four matches, taking a commanding 13-goal victory against Saudi Arabia. Thanks to this success, the European team proceeded to the Placement Matches 17-20, where they will face Slovenia or Morocco on Thursday. Saudi Arabia will finish the event on the same day with a Placement Match 21-24. 

The Asians fought hard and were down by just one goal (11:12) in the 27th minute before Norway ended the first half with a 3:0 run and pulled clear. And in the second part of the game, the Scandinavians were fully dominant on the court.

The Saudi Arabians looked tired after the break, so Norway punished them for multiple mistakes and continued extending their lead. Left back Aleksander Hoiness was their hero of the day, becoming the top scorer with 10 goals from 11 attempts, including two 7m shots. And right back Benjamin Berg, who was elected hummel Player of the Match, also did a good job, netting five times.

As many as 12 players scored for Saudi Arabia in this match, including both goalkeepers Jehad Abualwah and Hussain Alsafwani, as each of them netted once. However, Norway had the upper hand and won. 

hummel Player of the Match: Benjamin Berg (Norway)

• Algeria vs Japan 30:37 (14:17)

Japan are joining Poland for the last game on Thursday and the clash for the final ranking from 17th to 20th place. The Japanese players stepped up a gear in the second half, preventing Algeria from making yet another comeback. Algeria will close their World Championship appearance with the last game against Kuwait in the Placement Matches 21-24.

In the opening minutes of the game, both sides were able to have a narrow lead. Japan were the first side to gain a more significant advantage with the help of goalkeeper Hiroto Imai and their best player, Naoki Fujisaka.

The three-goal run boosted the confidence of Japan, but Algeria had their secret weapon on the bench. Goalkeeper Djoulah Chouaib had three straight saves and helped Sidi Aissa Ramy and Blida Nidhal Eddine Badie to narrow the gap to one (12:13).

The main difference between the two sides in the first half were fastbreaks and Japan were unassailable, netting five and taking the 17:14 half-time lead. Japan had a blistering start in the second half, stretching out the score with each attack. Algeria made some mistakes, with turnovers being the main reason for their trail.

Algeria's attack was slowly faltering without enough energy to keep up with the imposed pace. When Fujisaka scored his 11th goal in the game for Japan's first double-digit lead (32:22), it was all done. Shogo Oyama joined the great performance of Hiroto Imai, ending the game with 15 saves together.

hummel Player of the Match: Naoki Fujisaka (Japan)