The final tournament in the first qualification stage for the IHF Men’s World Championship 2023 started with a surprisingly clear 36:23 Italian victory over EHF EURO 2020 participants Latvia followed by another shock, as hosts Faroe Islands were defeated by Luxembourg.
The winner and the runners-up of this tournament will qualify for the first play-off round, which will be carried out in March. Finland, Estonia, Romania, Israel and Greece have already booked their tickets for this stage in the other groups.
GROUP 4:
Latvia vs. Italy 23:36 (13:21)
- the 1:0 was the only time Latvia led, before Italy easily decided the game early on, pulling ahead to their first double-figured advance at 16:6 after only 16 minutes and after an impressive eight-goal run
- despite five goals from their PSG star Dainis Kristopans, the Latvians could not turn the match around
- Italian goalkeeper Domenico Ebner produced a great performance with 11 saves – and in the end 11 Italian players were on the scoresheet, topped by Nicolo d’Antino, who struck seven times
- the closest gap in the second half was six goals at 24:18, but in truth, Italy were never in trouble
Luxembourg vs. Faroe Islands 31:26 (11:10)
- the first half was equal, with the lead constantly changing – no side managed to pull ahead to lead by a margin bigger than two goals
- parity remained until the 39th minute when Luxembourg took the upper hand thanks to a 6:1 run, going from 16:15 to 22:16 to finally break the resistance of the hosts
- at 27:20, Luxembourg sealed the deal and took revenge for a 22:24 defeat against the Faroes in qualification for the 2021 World Championship
- even the nine goals of Hakun West av Teigun were not enough for the hosts to start the competition with a win. Luxembourg’s top goalscorer was Yann Hoffmann who found the target eight times
Remaining matches in Torshavn
Latvia vs. Luxembourg
Saturday 15 January, 18 CET
Italy vs. Faroe Islands
Saturday 15 January, 20:30 CET
Italy vs. Luxembourg
Sunday 16 January, 16:30 CET
Faroe Islands vs. Latvia
Sunday 16 January, 19:00 CET
