Pajovic gears Austria up for important clash with Switzerland

The first two qualification matches arrived at a good time for Austria, following the team's impressive performances not only at EHF EURO 2024, but also a successful qualification for the Men's IHF World Handball Championship and a good performance in the Olympic Qualifiers for Paris 2024.

“The EHF EURO 2024 result was full of positives and our players now believe they can play against the best, but we have to be honest - we were playing above our level. Our goalkeeper was at 37 per cent which does not happen every day. So, for the confidence it's amazing but also expectations are higher now,” says Pajovic.

Being placed in one of the toughest qualifiers groups, group 7, with heavyweights Germany, strong Switzerland and a tough Türkiye, the stakes are high. In order to reach their goals they need to work hard and it is no secret two wins to start the group would significantly raise their chances.

“I think we had an amazing year and I would love to end it with four points this week. We had only a few trainings ahead of this qualification after almost six months and we are in a tough group. We have clear goals — we don't want to chase third place and then wait, we want to grab a secure spot at the European Championship, and for that we need two wins in the first week,” says the Slovenian.

Austria's first match against Türkiye was not an easy task, as the opponents brought some uncertainty, but Austria got the job done with a 31:28 victory. Facing a team with a less predictable style always presents a challenge, but Pajovic's team cleared the obstacle and are ready to face Switzerland. Meanwhile, the Swiss had much tougher clash against Germany, losing 26:35, and they will have only a short time to learn from their mistakes.

“There wasn't much material to analyse, and we didn't know much; they had a new coach, a Spaniard Daniel Gordo who came in January. So, we were focused on our game, it wasn't perfect but we performed well. Everyone got a chance to play, which was the most important thing, we didn't exhaust ourselves too much before the game against Switzerland.”

“The Swiss had a tough match in Germany, the Germans don't suit them well. I don’t think that game against Germany showed the real Switzerland. The Germans were very physical and dominant, especially with their goalkeepers and defence. Things just didn’t work for Switzerland in that match,” adds Pajovic.

Austria's next test comes on Sunday, 10 November, with a short journey to Schaffhausen, just 118 kilometres away across Lake Constance where they will face hosts Switzerland in the Highlight Match of round 2, with commentary in English available on EHFTV.

The team led by the legendary Andy Schmid, who took over in the summer, will put Austria to the test. Schmid's influence has brought noticeable changes to Switzerland's style of play and Pajovic is well aware the game is going to be far from easy.

“They have a good team, and Schmid is one of the best players and a capable coach. I’ve seen many new tactical elements since his arrival, so we have to prepare well. Manuel Zehnder is in great form and very dangerous one-on-one, Lenny Rubin, who also plays better in the national team than at the club level, and there's goalkeeper Nikola Portner from Magdeburg. And the rest of the team is playing on a good level. We always had tight matches against them so I think the chances are 50:50,” explains Pajovic.

With the stakes so high, Pajovic believes Austria must focus on key elements like maintaining defensive discipline and taking advantage of scoring opportunities. As they have a clear vision of being part of yet another EHF EURO, their seventh, having a team that has continuity and players gaining valuable experience in top leagues, is of great importance.

“My goal is to send as many players as possible to these top leagues, so we have more depth. After Robert Weber's retirement we have two young players on the right wing — Franko Lastro from TBV Lemgo and Jakob Nigg from HC Fivers WAT Margareten, who need to get more playing time to find a club for the next step in their careers.”

“Sometimes they don't play as much in those clubs in top leagues, sometimes they are the key players. Nevertheless, the main goal is to push players abroad to accelerate their development, which is much faster than in Austrian league so the national team can profit,” concludes Pajovic.

Photos © DIENER | Carsten Harz, Jozo Cabraja / kolektiff images