Cairo (AFP)

The resurgent Egypt against the Danish favorite: the first quarter-final of the Handball World Cup will pit the host country against the defending champion, before the other three quarters played simultaneously, including a tasty Spain - Norway.

With the end of the main round on Monday, the first 32-team World Cup - and behind closed doors - delivered its first lessons.

Exit Germany, deprived of several executives who declined the trip in this period of pandemic, Croatia, which records the worst ranking in its young history, and Slovenia, which denounced an organization "unworthy" after food poisoning including 12 of his players would have been victims the day before the decisive match against Egypt ...

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For Egypt, "the moment to dream"

The International Federation (IHF) did not react to the controversy.

The Egyptian team either, already turned towards its biggest challenge for twenty years: to rally again the final square, as in 2001 in France, via a feat against the defending Danish champion.

"Qualifying for the quarter-finals is a great thing. There are a lot of great teams that are eliminated. We reached our goal and now it's time to dream," told AFP winger Mohammad Sanad, top scorer against the Slovenes (7 goals).

Eighth in the last World Cup, youth world champion in 2019 with Ahmed Hesham, teammate of Sanad in Nîmes, Egypt has progressed under the baton of Spanish technicians, David Davis then the Spaniard Roberto Garcia Parrondo, currently in charge, to the point of compete again with the Europeans.

As at the turn of the millennium (1995-2001), when she had reached the quarter-finals of the Worlds 4 times in a row.

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Beginning of suspicion

Opposite, Mikkel Hansen, also fell ill in the health bubble of central Cairo, will he be recovered?

The PSG star was absent against Japan (34-27) and Croatia (38-26), which did not prevent the title holders from winning widely.

His absence on Wednesday would reinforce the climate of suspicion fueled by the Slovenes, who described in detail the "severe pain" and other vomiting suffered by three major players, Stas Skube, Dragan Gajic and Blaz Blagotinsek.

In the hotel in central Cairo transformed into a sanitary bubble where Egypt, Denmark and Sweden have been housed from the start, the teams share the same common catering space but each has its own room and buffet.

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Hungary and Qatar, the outsiders

France and Hungary are still housed at the foot of the pyramids, in Giza, and clash in the west of the Egyptian capital.

Unbeaten after two group stages where they alternated the best against the big teams (Norway and Portugal) and the worst against the outsiders (Switzerland and Algeria), the French will start favorites.

But with center-half Maté Lékai and goalkeeper Roland Mikler, the Magyars also have solid arguments.

Handball fans deplore it, two other quarter-finals will take place at the same time.

Spain, also undefeated, will start favorites against Sander Sagosen's Norway who has sometimes appeared a little too lonely in his team.

Qualified without trembling, Sweden will start with more freshness than Qatar, present for the third time in the last four editions.

Miraculously from the main round after their last-minute victory over Argentina (26-25) on Monday, the Gulf team, led by Spaniard Valero Rivera, will have nothing to lose against young Swedes.

And will be all the more dangerous.

Quarter-finals program Wednesday (French time):

(5.30 p.m.) Denmark - Egypt (International Stadium)

(8:30 p.m.) Spain - Norway (New capital)

(8:30 p.m.) France - Hungary (6-October)

(8:30 p.m.) Sweden - Qatar (International Stadium)

© 2021 AFP