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January 21, 2025
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January 21, 2025After beating Poland in their last group match, Switzerland claimed their second straight victory at Croatia/Denmark/Norway 2025, this time in a main round match against Tunisia. It was also Switzerland’s largest win in 30 years at the IHF Men’s World Championship, when the European side took a 13-goal win against USA at Iceland 1995.
MAIN ROUND GROUP I
Switzerland vs Tunisia 37:26 (20:11)
The African team’s right back Oussama Hosni opened the score in this match in the 38th second, but then Tunisia failed to score for nearly eight minutes. They had a number of turnovers, and even though Tunisia’s goalkeeper Yassine Belkaied started the game well and delivered a few saves, Switzerland opened up a 4:1 lead.
Swiss goalkeeper Nikola Portner, who had done well at the group stage, also made an impact, and he actually scored a goal from his own half, helping his team to pull clear at 8:4 by the 14th minute before Tunisia called for their first timeout. However, it did not help much, as the European side continued to have the initiative.
They were especially dominant in the last 10 minutes of the first half, when they scored as many as nine goals, capitalizing on Tunisia’s mistakes. This surge helped the Swiss side to extend the gap to 20:11 at the break, therefore the African side now had a mountain to climb.
Lenny Rubin, who had a tally of 20 goals after the group stage, showed his quality again, becoming Switzerland’s joint best scorer in this match with seven goals. Luka Maros scored just as many, while Gino Steenaerts and Samuel Zehnder netted six goals each, so this quartet combined for 26 of 37 goals scored by their team. In turn, Islem Jbeli had 11 goals on his account, but it did not help Tunisia to claim any points.
In the second half, Switzerland continued to control the game and ultimately took a well-deserved win. Now they have three points, while Tunisia, who have no points, are basically out of contention for a quarter-final spot. In their next games on Thursday, Switzerland will be challenged by Denmark, and Tunisia will meet Czechia.
This was also Switzerland’s second-largest win in history at the World Championship, as well as their largest one in 30 years, with the record still being the 28:15 win against USA at Iceland 1995.
Hummel Player of the Match: Nikola Portner (Switzerland)