Qatar handball team members celebrating their win at Lusail Multipurpose Hall yesterday. PICTURE: Mamdouh
Qatar’s handball team created history yesterday qualifying for their first-ever world championships semi-finals after beating Germany 26-24 in a superb encounter,
The win sparked wild celebrations among players and supporters.
And on a night of high drama at the Lusail stadium, reigning world champions Spain then edged through against Denmark 25-24 with a last-second winner from Joan Canellas.
It means Spain set up a heavyweight clash against current European champions France in one semi-final.
The French cruised through beating Slovenia 32-23, in an ominous warning to the other sides.
Qatar will play Poland in the easier-looking of the two semi-finals, giving the hosts a strong chance of making their first ever final.
After the match, Qatar’s coach Valero Rivera said the first 30 minutes was the most impressive they had played in the tournament.
“I think the first-half performance, we played our best handball in the championship and we won because of that,” he said.
German star player Uwe Gensheimer said the best team won. “They really deserved it today,” he said.
Once again it was Qatar’s big game players - Zarko Markovic, Rafael Capote, Danijel Saric and Borja Vidal - who dominated and helped the hosts into the last four.
Markovic is now the tournament’s top scorer with 55 goals. Goalkeeper Saric won the man-of-the match award.
It was not until the 13th minute that either team was able to establish any sort of lead when two quick penalties for Qatar, both converted by Markovic, gave the home side a 6-3 lead.
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