
Poland through to President’s Cup final; Algeria win African derby
January 23, 2025
Hungary’s flawless second-half performance secures key win over Austria
January 23, 2025France continued their dominant run at the IHF Men’s World Championship, securing their fifth consecutive victory with a 35:28 win against the Netherlands. Guillaume Gille’s team became the first team to secure their spot in the quarter-final, as well as the first place in Main Round Group II, regardless of their final group match. The Netherlands, still on four points, narrowed their chances to progress, but the hope exists even though it relies on other results too.
MAIN ROUND GROUP I
Netherlands vs France 28:35 (13:19)
Just as Guillaume Gille predicted ahead of the game, France needed time to adapt to the Netherlands’ different style of defending, which kept them in a close contest for 15 minutes. Despite the challenge, the French attack remained efficient and had a quick response to every Dutch goal, with an average time before a shot of under 29 seconds, nearly 10 seconds faster than their Dutch opponents.
When France finally managed to force the Netherlands into mistakes, they used fast breaks to build the first significant lead (9:6). The Netherlands’ head coach, Staffan Olsson, tried to shake things up, changing his team’s defensive setups, while their attack remained dependent on Luc Steins and his moves, but a two-minute suspension unravelled any potential chance of tying the score.
In those moments, France’s depth began to shine and their true starpower started to emerge, improving the lead to six goals, as Dika Mem led the charge with five goals scored in the first half. Goalkeeper Rémi Desbonnet also had his say, with a couple of saves, while the Dutch defence started to falter, leaving their goalkeeper Matthias Dorgelo vulnerable between the posts.
They were once again without goalkeeper Bart Ravensbergen who recently came back from an injury, and Rob Goudriaan, so young Jorick Pol flew to Croatia and stood between the posts for the first time ever for the Netherlands at the start of the second half.
On the other side, Charles Bolzinger did make a difference, having a blistering start with three saves in the first six shots he faced to push his side to a 23:16 lead in just seven minutes of play in the second half. In the last ten minutes, there were no significant changes despite the Netherlands keeping their fighting spirit at a high.
The French maintained their tempo and preserved their lead through their rotations until the end of the match. With a 35:28 win, they celebrated a quarter-final berth and guaranteed the first place in Group II, regardless of the result of the match against Kiril Lazarov’s side. The Netherlands suffered their only second loss at the World Championship 2025 and will put everything into the last game against Austria, which will be crucial.
France’s attack was highly efficient with standout performances from right backs Melvyn Richardson and Dika Mem, who each scored seven goals. For the Netherlands, Dani Baijens was a key player, contributing with six goals.
hummel Player of the Match: Nedim Remili (France)