Spanish win piles pressure on France

GROUP I

Spain vs France 36:32 (20:14)

H2H: 13-4-23
Top scorers: Ian Barrufet 10/11 (ESP), Aymeric Minne 7/13 (FRA)
Goalkeeper saves: Sergey Hernández 14/43, Ignacio Biosca 0/2 (ESP); Charles Bolzinger 5/24, Rémi Desbonnet 9/25 (FRA)
POTM presented by Grundfos: Ian Barrufet (ESP)

• in the first half, the French attack was unrecognisable compared to their high-speed and high-efficiency performance in the previous matches, while Spain were extremely quick in their reverse gear
• backed by seven goals from Ian Barrufet and a 7:1 run, Spain took the upper hand after France took an 8:7 lead in the 13th minute; goalkeeper Sergey Hernández also became a factor in the closing minutes of the first half
• when Rémi Desbonnet replaced Charles Bolzinger in the French goal, his saves were crucial for a 4:0 run — and the hopes of the defending champions even rose as Thibaut Briet closed the gap to one goal (25:26) with 14 minutes left
• but this was when the momentum changed again: France became too hectic in attack, Hernández stood like a wall and the Spanish train was back on track, scoring a 7:3 run
• more saves by Hernández, the rock-solid Spanish defence and their constant changes in their attacking tactics eventually paid off with victory

Tactical master class stops French express

The 30th official match of two leading handball nations was not only thrilling, but also a feast for tactics fans. Spain played with a huge variety in attack, from six against six, to four back-court players and no line player, to seven against six with two line players.

The French defence was well prepared for some of those variations, but in the first half, the Spanish counterattacks were crucial. When France reduced the number of mistakes after the break and Rémi Desbonnet saved some important shots, France recovered from their weak performance in the first half. As they could not set up their regular high-speed match play, as Spain were extremely quick back in defence, they depended on the shooting power of their back-court stars and the combinations with their line players.

In crunch time, when the risk was quite high of losing the lead, Spanish head coach Jordi Ribera still counted on seven against six — which was as crucial as Hernández’s saves of at the other end.

Photos © kolektiff images