Just one more hurdle. The Israeli handball team qualified today (Sunday) for the third and decisive round of the World Cup qualifiers, after a double victory over Lithuania in the second round. After 24:28 at home last Wednesday, the Blue and Whites scored 25:27 away, and they will face Hungary in another double-header on the ticket to the biggest stage of the industry.
In contrast to the first battle in the country, then the team of Oleg Botenko and Assaf Levy fell behind 6: 1 and created an impressive turnaround, this time Israel managed to lead from the start and maintain a relatively stable advantage for a long time, with the record difference being six goals. Another great game by goalkeeper Dan Tepper helped widen the gap from 10:13 at the break to 16:22, and from there the locals only narrowed slightly to the buzzer.
As mentioned, in the last qualifying round awaits Hungary, a much stronger opponent that in the last World Cup (2021) has reached the quarterfinals. The pair will play on April 13 and 16, first at home and then away.
Occupied today in Israel: Yirmi Sidi 6, Amit Stelman and Nadav Nizri 5 each, Adir Cohen 3, Yoav Lombroso and Ram Turknitz 2 each, Daniel Shekelim, Yossi Apo, Tomer Bodenheimer and Nadav Cohen 1 each.