The dream of the World Championship host has become reality on Friday evening 25 January: Spain has made it to the final on home ground after a well-deserved 26:22 (13:12) semi-final win against Slovenia. The Iberians will play their second final in the history of World Championships after 2005, when they had beaten Croatia in the final in Tunisia to win their one and only title by now. Their final opponent for the gold medal match on Sunday 27 January will be decided in the match Croatia – Denmark later. Spain improved in the middle of the second half, extending the gap intermediately to decisive eight goals.

The Spanish defence stood like a wall in the opening period, while Slovenia had enormous respect for their competitor and the atmosphere in the nearly sold-out Palau San Jordi. The only Slovenian, who caused problems for the Spanish defence, was Jure Dolenec, who scored four goals in the first 12 minutes.  But compared to this the Spanish attack was in full swing. Thanks to four straight goals the host forged ahead to 12:7, directly causing a Slovenian time-out.

Coach Boris Denic found the right words in those 60 seconds. As goalkeeper Gorazd Skof clearly improved, he backed his defence, the Spaniards lost their rhythm in attack – and by the counter-attack goals of Gasper Marguc the Slovenians reduced the gap and made their fans on the tribunes in Palau San Jordi singing and shouting. By a series of 5:1 in the last five minutes they had nearly leveled the match for the halftime score of 13:12 for the host.

And the surprise team, which played their first ever World Championship semi-final in history, remained strong, especially in defence and goalkeeping. Gorazd Skof was the tower of power – including two saved penalty shots, as the Spaniards still were below in attack. The only problem of the Slovenians in the initial phase of the second half was that they could not break through the improved Spanish defence. Goalkeeper Arpad Sterbik, who was awarded man of the match, closed the goal and pulled the teeth of the Slovenians.

From minute 42 on, those offence problems caused crucial consequences on the other side: Spain scored three consecutive times to 18:14 in only 100 seconds – the decisive stage had started. Another quadruple-strike, finished by the counter-attack goal of defence specialist Viran Morros for 22:14, broke the neck of the Slovenians, who obviously ran out of power.

Spain kept their rhythm until the final whistle nearly without decelerating, even after line player Julen Aguinagalde scored for the first eight-goal difference at 24:16. In the final stages Spain allowed the Slovenians to have some “result cosmetics” but the match had been decided much earlier.  The fans – among them Spanish football star Andres Iniesta, went crazy – and now hope to go all the way with their team on Sunday.

Statements after the match:

Valero Rivera, coach Spain: I am very satisfied with the result and the way we played. But I have to give a big compliment for the Slovenians, because they play in a beautiful way and showed a strong tactical performance. We had problems in defence, when we were ahead by four goals in the first half, then Slovenia returned and nearly leveled the match. In the second half we improved our defence and goalkeeping. The first 20 to 25 minutes in the second half were decisive. Big thanks to the audience, which supported us in the same way as in Madrid and Zaragoza before. We hope that together with them we can become World Champion on Sunday. I try to separate the time the players are on the field and try to rotate as much as to avoid tiredness of them. I have no preference for the final in respect for the loser of the other semi-final. We are ready for the final.

Arpad Sterbik, goalkeeper Spain: I am really happy to be in the final, as I was really afraid of the young Slovenian team, who plays the most beautiful handball in this tournament.  They have no big names in the team, but showed their strength when they came really close before the break.  In the end the defence and the counter-attacks were the keys – like in every match in modern handball.

Gereon Guardiola, player Spain: The match was more exciting and close than the final result reflects. We had to break a hard resistance. Slovenia was strong in defence and in counter-attacks. In the second half we managed to forge ahead clearer. I have no favourite to face in the final, because Denmark and Croatia are both strong teams.

Boris Denic, coach Slovenia: It was a deserved Spanish victory in a game not beautiful for spectators, but highly interesting from the tactical point of view. The saves of the Spanish goalkeeper made the difference and were the key, as in attack no team was superior.

Miha Zvizej, player Slovenia: It was a hard match, in which we started well, but when Spain was away by six or seven goals we had no chance to equalize. Now we hope for our next chance to win a medal.