Qatar have been in a league of their own in the World Championship, and barring a close loss to Spain in the group stage, have been among the most consistent sides. Their opponents France (below) are yet to lose a match in the event. Pictures: Jayan Orma
By Yash Mudgal/Doha
Qatar have rewritten some chapters of history in the ongoing 24th final of the Men’s Handball World Championship and may add another one as the hosts take on mighty France in the final today.
At the Lusail Multipurpose Arena, Asian champions Qatar became the first non-European nation to enter the world championship final after a semi-final win over Poland and are now ready to take on four-time champions France, who are aiming to complete a hat trick of titles after their Olympics and European championship triumphs.
Whoever triumphs, history will be made.
If France win, they will be the first team to have won the world title five times. They last won in 2011 and are the current European and Olympic champions. It is their sixth appearance in a handball World Cup final.
Qatar, meanwhile, are only playing their fifth world championships, beginning in 2003 when they achieved their previous best finish of 16th.
France have stealthily cruised through the tournament, winning four of their five qualifying matches, remaining unbeaten and knocking out world champions Spain in Friday’s semi-finals.
Qatar too have been in a league of their own, and barring their close loss to Spain in the group stage, have been among the most consistent sides in the Championship. They have played all their games at the Lusail arena, and have had the vocal support of the local crowd.
While the French team has been built up over a number of years under the expert hand of coach Claude Onesta, Rivera has built the Qatari team equally skilfully but quickly.
Both have constructed formidable squads. The French rely on the guile of central-back Nikola Karabatic, the athleticism of Daniel Narcisse and the goals of Michael Guigou.
Qatar look to Rafael Capote, Zarko Markovic and Kamalaldin Mallash for their success.
The one thing the two sides have in common is that their star player is the goalkeeper. France have the impregnable Thierry ‘Titi’ Omeyer guarding their post and most of the rival sides will openly admit that he has been a vital cog in their wheel.
His performance in Friday’s semi-final, where he saved four second-half penalties alone and a string of other magnificent stops, was possibly the standout performance of the tournament.
The 38-year-old Omeyer saved 58 percent of defending champions Spain’s scoring attempts in the semifinal. “I love those big games. I love when it counts,” Omeyer, the winner of 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games’ best goalkeeper award, said.
Another interesting fact is that France have never lost a final with Omeyer at the post.
On the other hand, his counterpart Danijel Saric has already won four man-of-the-match awards in this championship. The two custodians’ performance at the post will surely have a say in who lifts the glittering trophy today.
“I don’t think about how it would feel to stand on the podium tomorrow, we just want to continue working hard,” Qatar line player Borja Vidal said. “We know that we have already made history. It is like a dream and we just want it to continue.”
Qatar, who have lost only one match so far—against Spain in the preliminary round—will have the support of 15.000 cheering fans.
France are unbeaten after eight wins and one draw against Iceland in the group stage. Since 1993, France have not lost the final of any major competition—the Olympics, World Championship and the European Championship.
Both sides have faced each other only once—at the Golden League test tournament in France in January 2014, where the Olympic champions beat Qatar 29-23.
Action Today
Bronze medal match: Poland vs Spain, 4:30pm
Final: Qatar vs France at 07:15pm
Venue: Lusail Multipurpose Hall
