The Final of the 24th Men’s Handball World Championship is a historic one. It represents the first time a non-European team has made it to this stage of the competition, while for France it is an opportunity to hold all three major handball titles simultaneously – for the second time. 

The first match of the evening will be the 3/4 meeting between Poland and Spain, who must both recover from tough Semi-Final losses to fight for the bronze medal. 

Qatar-France 19:15, Lusail Multipurpose Hall

When the last whistles blew in the two Semi-Final matches on Friday night, it was Qatar and France who were celebrating wins over Poland and Spain, respectively. 

The second Semi-Final was arguably stronger given the teams playing – Spain and France hold the three current major handball titles between them, while the first was a surprise between two teams not initially expected to contest this stage of the competition. 

Qatar coach Valero Rivera knew the most important thing for his side was to take a lead into half-time, and they did thanks largely to the six goals by left back Rafael Capote and the superb saves of Danijel Saric. 

Up against the big, fast-paced Polish side, Qatar played a solid game that ultimately earned them their first ever berth in the Final – and the first ever medal for a non-European side.

Rivera will undoubtedly have some tricks up his sleeve when his team takes to the court against France, but whether they will work or not is a different question. 

France are widely acknowledged as one of the finest national teams in the history of handball, and their performance against 2013 World Champions Spain proved this assertion may well be the case. 

Though it was a hard-fought match from both sides, France dominated from start to finish to record an impressive four-goal win over a so-far unbeaten Spain. 

Led by a superb performance from goalkeeper Thierry Omeyer, France’s defence proved difficult for Spain to work against. 
Their attack was also exceptional, with goals from every position in the first 15 minutes alone. 

In a side such as France it is difficult to identify stand-out players, but the usual big names were certainly at their best on Friday night. 

Nikola Karabatic’s direction in attack showed why he is such a respected player, while Daniel Narcisse was extremely dangerous at left back. 

Narcisse expects the match to be difficult, but also knows France have experience on their side:

"It will be very tough but we can do it with the experience we have. It is always hard when you face the hosts, in particular in the final. 

"Preparation is very important and essential. We will fight and try to find the best solutions. We have to keep our nerve up to the very end – it will be a lot of hard work. But we bring the experience of having played some finals with us, also against the hosts of past tournaments."

Qatar have a mountain to climb if they hope to defeat world-class France – will the vocal home crowd that will undoubtedly be present tonight be enough to secure them the ultimate prize?

Poland-Spain 16:30, Lusail Multipurpose Hall

The first match of the day will see Poland take on Spain in the battle for bronze. 

Both sides will have had a tough task in overcoming their disappointment on Friday in order to prepare for this match, but their losses will certainly make the teams more determined to win.

As World Champions with several star players in their ranks, Spain are the favourites ahead of the game. 
Both teams have wings that like to run, but their biggest strength is the backcourt in fixed attack. 

The left backs for both sides are dominant, with Joan Canellas for Spain and Michal Jurecki for Poland both high-scoring, big players that present an intimidating force on the court. 

The key to this match could be the goalkeepers, and with young Spaniard Gonzalo Perez De Vargas taking over as number one keeper for his side thanks to the superb tournament he has played, Spain look to have an edge between the posts.