Starting success: the Russian national handball team reached the main round of the World Cup from the first place in the group

At the World Handball Championship among men in Egypt, the preliminary round ended, following which 24 out of 32 participants continue to fight. Among them will be the Russian national team, which officially acts as the team of the Russian Handball Federation.

Velimir Petkovic's wards took first place in group H, presenting one of the main sensations of the tournament at the moment.

The Russians were selected for the championship of the planet thanks to the wild card, which, by default, did not make it possible to be considered a favorite in a match with any opponent.

In addition, due to injuries, the team lost a number of key players, of which point guard Pavel Atman and left welterweight Alexander Shkurinsky were especially badly lacking.

In such a situation, the struggle for the third place in the group with South Korea, and not for the first with Belarus and Slovenia, seemed real.

The first match in Egypt, Petkovic's charges played against their geographical neighbors.

Handball in Belarus has made a big step forward in recent years, and at the European Championships it has already become commonplace that the Belarusian national team performs better than the Russian one.

At the same time, the Russians have never lost to the Beorussians in official matches.

As part of Belarus, the main striking force was the club bunch of Vladislav Kulesh and Artem Korolk from "Cologne", which immediately began to throw balls into the goal of Viktor Kireev.

The Russians had to win back all the time, but they did not let their opponents go further than two goals.

Sergei Kudinov helped to maintain the difference at this level, whose help to the team was not limited to goals.

He productively played the role of point guard, which became scarce in the national team.

In the penultimate second of the first half, the Russians were finally able to level the score thanks to the throw of Sergei Mark Kosorotov.

In the second half of the match, Petkovic's players played more variably, but not always accurately.

Penalty goals would have been very useful to the team, but not a single shot from a seven-meter distance reached the goal.

Belarusian goalkeeper Ivan Moroz acted quite reliably, but counterattacks turned out to be his weak point, thanks to which the Russians still got two goals away by the 46th minute.

The Belarusians had to recoup, which they continued to do until the last seconds.

The Russians had the right to a final attack after a time-out, but Moroz reflected Dmitry Shishkarev's throw.

In the first match at the World Championship, Petkovic's wards drew, 32:32.

After the fight, the players of the national team admitted that the forced performance under neutral status only motivated them more to fight.

“When we went to the pitch and felt this situation, a sporting anger arose, which helped to better tune in to the match.

Yes, not our anthem, our flag and coat of arms are not shown, but we can show our teeth, our character and ability to play handball, ”said Igor Soroka, who scored six goals for Belarusians.

In the second round, the Russians were faced with an even more formidable rival - the Slovenian national team.

Thanks to the fact that she managed to avoid injuries and illnesses among the main players, last year's Euro semi-finalist could even be called one of the contenders for the World Championship medals.

The Slovenes showed their strength in the first match with South Korea, which they won 51:29.

But the same fight demonstrated that the Slovenes are still mistaken in defense, and the Russians took full advantage of this.

Petkovic's wards after the 10th minute stopped losing in the long run, and after some time they took the lead and did not stop leading until the final whistle.

Dmitry Kiselev was responsible for the goals in the team - his six first throws led to six goals.

This time, Soroka effectively converted the penalty, which was also very useful for the team.

But the goalkeeper Kireev turned out to be the best player among the Russians.

Even in the first half, he made more saves than he did with Dmitry Pavlenko in the previous match.

Once the goalkeeper even scored a double save during a penalty kick, which could not but inspire the field players to score several goals in the opposite goal.

Already at the 35th minute, the Slovenes had to take a second time-out, but their head coach Lubomir Vranješ, who lost the 2000 Olympic final to Russia, did not find a way to turn the game around.

The Slovenes managed, at best, to reduce the gap to three goals, but the final difference was twice as large.

The Russians won 31:25 and guaranteed access to the main round.

Our winning locker room!

🙌🙌🙌 # handballRussia # Egypt2021pic.twitter.com / GeM1YUvf92

- Handball Russia (@rushandball) January 17, 2021

The match with South Korea for Petkovich's wards no longer had a tournament value - the Asian team took fourth place without options, which means that the points earned in a meeting with it did not go into the next round.

But still, the Russians could not deny themselves the pleasure of beating the national team, more than which only Uruguay missed at the World Cup.

Moreover, the Koreans brought to Egypt not the main team, but almost youth, where there was even a 17-year-old goalkeeper Lee Chang Wu.

The main team stayed at home to better prepare for the Olympic qualifying tournament.

However, the victory was not easy.

Petkovic carried out the rotation, giving a chance to prove themselves to three players who had never entered the field before.

Among them are goalkeeper Stanislav Tretynko, who has become a good replacement for Kireev.

The Russian national team led most of the first half, but conceded three quick goals in the last five minutes, so the teams left for the break when there was a draw.

After returning to the court, the Russians still put the squeeze on the opponent, winning with a difference of four goals - 30:26.

Immediately after the match, the team recognized the following opponents.

For reaching the quarterfinals, you will have to fight with Sweden, Egypt and North Macedonia.

It will not be easy to do this, since the Scandinavians and Africans already entered the top eight two years ago.

The Russians, on the other hand, have not achieved this for eight years, but they have three points to fight for the playoffs, which is more than the Macedonians and Egyptians earned.