France hand Qatar another loss

Defending champions France moved up to seven points in the Group B table with a 35-18 win over Qatar in the 2017 IHF Men’s Junior (U21) World Championship in Algiers, Algeria, yesterday.In another match, Denmark beat Sweden 33-25 to advance to the next round.France coach Johann Delattre chose to begin with a different starting six than usual, with right back Dika Mem and centre back Aymeric Minne on the bench. Qatar coach Valero Rivera also made some changes to his standing line-up, with Ahmed Abdelrhem in goal rather than Bozo Subotic. Qatar were first on the board courtesy of a fast-break goal from Mohamed Mohamed, before France responded with three counter-attacks in a row that pulled them in front to 3-1 after five minutes. Abdelrhem caused considerable trouble for France, stopping many clear chances for the European side, but France were still able to take a 5-2 lead after 10 minutes of play as left wing Etienne Mocquais scored a penalty Abdelrhem could not to save. Midway through the half France remained in front at 8-4, but it was far from a one-sided contest and both goalkeepers – Abdelrhem for Qatar and Julien Meyer for France – continued to make impressive saves. At the 20-minute mark France kept a four-goal distance at 9-5, and as the clock ticked on and Delattre rotated through squad, their comparative strength began to show. With four minutes remaining in the half the European team hit a 14-7 advantage, and as the last minute of the period began they reached a lead of 10 at 17-7. The Asian team reached double digits in the 38th minute (10-23), but by then had a commanding 13-goal lead.Earlier, Denmark set the tone for the match immediately, scoring four goals in the opening three minutes while Sweden could not find the goal past their opponent’s 3-3 defensive system. After coach Ulf Nystroem called an early time-out Sweden scored their first in the fourth minute, but Denmark still held a commanding 6-1 advantage after just five minutes of play. Denmark moved to a 19-11 lead at half-time, and then kept the same eight-goal advantage right through to the final 10 minutes of the match.As the clock passed 50 minutes, Sweden caught a glimpse of hope as they closed the deficit slightly to come within five goals at 24-29. But that wasn’t to be as Denmark clinched it at 33-25.