The 'Hispanics' start the European Championship with a good exam
The team debuts against Croatia in an event in which it has played the last four finals and which puts an Olympic ticket at stake
MADRID, 11 Ene. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Spanish men's handball team will start this Friday (8:30 p.m./Teledeporte) its participation in the European Championship that will be held in Germany until Sunday, January 28 and will do so with a great first test against an always competitive rival and candidate for the podium like Croatia.
The 'Hispanos' face a new major international event as one of the teams to beat and seeking to maintain their love affair with the continental podium. Not only has Spain not dropped from there in the last five editions, something that no other team has been able to do, but it has played in the last four finals, with two titles (2018 and 2020) and two silvers (2016 and 2022 ). Two years ago, Sweden took away the possibility of equaling their historic treble between 1998 and 2002.
Furthermore, the current European runner-up has shown its competitive level in major international events since precisely the historic gold in 2018, already with Jordi Ribera on the national bench. Since the arrival of the Catalan coach in 2016, the team has won six medals, two gold and one European silver, two world bronzes and one Olympic, and only achieved nothing in the 2017 and 2019 World Cups.
The last one, last year's World Cup, ended with another excellent third place to continue adding to the record of a group that makes the most of its virtues to fight against theoretically more powerful rivals. In the event held in Poland and Sweden, Denmark was its executioner in the semifinals and the Swedish host, the victim in the fight for third and fourth place.
In addition, the double continental champion secured at least a pre-Olympic qualification a year ago next March to be in the Paris Games, but she could get a direct ticket if she achieves her third gold, although it could also earn her a prize. 'minor' if Denmark or France, already qualified, are champions or finalists.
For this new challenge, Jordi Ribera, renewed at the end of 2023 until 2028, has his most usual block, although some well-known and key pieces will be missing in the defensive framework such as the veteran Gedeón Guardiola, the winger Ferrán Solé or the goalkeeper Rodrigo Corrales, this one due to injury. Sergey Hernández (Magdeburg), substitute for the Cangas player, is the new addition to the BM Granollers full-back Jon Gurri for a team with new additions to the World Cup such as winger Aleix Gómez and full-back Ian Tarrafeta.
The 'Hispanics' arrive at the European Championship with the set-up carried out in the TIE with victories against Poland, Slovakia and Serbia and their path will begin this Friday at the SAP Arena in Mannheim with a level obstacle like Croatia that will not allow relaxations and is key to go first in a group that is completed by somewhat more 'affordable' rivals such as Romania and Austria, which will be measured on Sunday and Tuesday, respectively.
Croatia, despite being immersed in a renewal process and having been far from the best in recent events, will be a good touchstone for the Spaniards who will face a competitive team with the talent brought together by expert players such as Luka Cindric , Domagoj Duvnjak and Igor Karacic.
The rivalry between Spain and Croatia is historic: 34 matches of which 29 are official, with a balance of 12 matches won by the 'Hispanos', 1 draw and 21 defeats at the hands of the Harlequin team. The most remembered precedent, the final of the 2020 European Championship held at the Tele2 Arena in Stockholm, in which the Hispanics won (20-22) their second continental crown.
The objective of the current runner-up is not to fail this first group to advance with maximum points to the Main Round where they would play against the first two of Groups A (France, Germany, North Macedonia and Switzerland) and C (Serbia, Iceland, Hungary and Montenegro).
From there, only the first two would get the ticket for the semifinals and make the final fight for a title to which Denmark, current world champion, France, which is fine-tuning its pieces for the Paris Olympic Games, Sweden, Norway and Germany, aspire. , which will have the advantage of its audience, which this Wednesday packed the Merkur-Spiel Arena in Düsseldorf with a world record of 53,586 spectators in its victory against Switzerland.
DATASHEET.
–EQUIPMENT.
SPAIN: Pérez de Vargas (P), Hernández (P), Maqueda, Gómez, Casado, Tarrafeta, A.Dujshebaev, Maqueda, Garciandia, Cañellas, D.Dujshebaev, Gurri, Odriozola, Fernández, Sánchez-Migallón, Fernández, Figueras, Peciña and Serdio.
CROATIA: Mandic (P), Ivic (P), Pilipovic (P), Jelinic, Mihic, Sostaric, Glavas, Lucin, Mamic, Duvnjak, Karacic, Cindric, Martinovic, Maras, Klarica, Kusan, Nacinovic and Sipic.
–ARBITRATOR: V.Horacek and J.Novotny (CHE).
–PAVIL: SAP Mannheim Arena.
–TIME: 8:30 p.m./Teledeporte.