Since the arrival of Jordi Ribera to the Spanish bench, a decade ago, Spain has remained screwed in the handball elite with two Olympic and world bronze medals, as well as two golds and a European silver. The blemish, , occurred two years ago when a draw against Austria meant a premature goodbye to the European past. And as if they still wanted to, or as if the lesson had been learned, the Hispanics stood at the Danish Jyske Bank Boxen with the gazuza accentuated. That was clarified by Garciandia as an appetizer, when the Austrian defense collapsed and the winger punished with a long shot to open the curtain. He who warns is not a traitor.
Austria () tried to impose its game, a very physical handball where Hutecek put the muscle and the last pass, almost always for the crane Wagner, and sometimes towards Bilyk, the talent of the break and the throw, the touches of the top hat. , electric fence for rivals. So the robberies followed one another and, perhaps due to the initial nerves, also the errors in the transitions, dizzying attacks with poor final choices for the shot. It did not last long because the referees punished the illegal plays by Frimmel and Kofler with two minutes and Spain was freed. Gurri’s changes of rhythm and Tarrafeta’s crosses appeared to play and make people play, to distribute and finish, to open a gap that was never closed again. Everyone around him shone, like Aleix Gómez from the wing, like Serdio from the inside and even Marcos Fis, the talent who has made the future his present. And if something failed, Sergey Hernández appeared in his area, who took the gadjetomanos and the gadjetopies to deny the major, to seal a delicious first act described with a resounding 12-19.
Austria returned to the track with renewed vigor, focused on strengthening the defense more, but not even with that they could stop the Spaniards, who were having a great time running, now with Alex Djushebaev, and Kauldi Odriozola, Casado and Ian Barrufet with minutes. Even Nacho Biosca cemented the legend of parapenaltistwo of two. It happened, in any case, that Möstl responded brutally under the rival crossbar, an impregnable wall of repeated and meritful stops that served to reduce the differences to four goals (20-24). More from Hutecek, Wagner and Bilyk, but little or nothing from Frimmel, the knife from the wing who needed seven shots to score the first.
Garciandia then made his warning effective, with another from afar to close a counter, to explain that Spain does not stumble over the same stone twice. Even if he was as great as Wagner. And Möstl was still doing his thing, sensational against shots from six meters. Nothing to envy, in any case, Sergey Hernandez, who not only saved but even scored two goals from his area that caught Austria offside, with the change from player to goalkeeper, determined as they were to generate superiority in attack.
So against the already eliminated Austria, like the acceleration at the beginning of the duel, the brake against the rebellious rival and the serenity to endure the distance and celebrate a victory that gives them a pass to the next phase, as long as Germany – the next rival, which is already waiting around the corner – can handle Serbia.
