Egypt started the Placement Match 7/8 against Hungary with a 4:0 unanswered run, but needed four extra-time halves to clinch a 36:35 win and end up in seventh place in one of the most dramatic matches at Poland/Sweden 2023.
The disappointment in Egypt’s camp was there to be seen after a five-match winning streak to start the competition at Poland/Sweden 2023 was followed by three losses on the trot against Denmark, Sweden, and Germany.
That did not mean that Egypt were not ready to challenge for a place among the top teams at the IHF Men’s World Championship, but that they still needed that extra boost that also prevented them from winning against Denmark in the quarter-finals two years ago when they hosted the competition, in one of the best matches in the history of the world handball flagship competition.
Nevertheless, the players huddled up in what was likely to be the last match on the Egypt bench for Roberto García Parrondo. They decided to send their coach off with a win, clinching a seventh place at Poland/Sweden 2023, the same place they secured two years ago.
The start of the match against Hungary, where García Parrondo clashed with his former teammate in Spain’s lineup, Chema Rodríguez, was flawless for the Pharaohs, who jumped to an early 4:0 lead after only four minutes, with the combinations with the line players Mohamed Shebib and Ibrahim El-Masry working wonders and being impossible to stop by Hungary’s defense.
Another 7:3 run spurred by left-back Ali Zein, was also instrumental in cementing Egypt’s total domination in the match, with the gap constantly growing to seven goals, 16:9, after 22 minutes, as Hungary were losing control of the match. A timeout taken by Rodríguez did not help, with Egypt marching towards the win by securing a six-goal lead at the break (17:11).
Some excellent saves from Karim Hendawy, who finished the match with 13 shots stopped and a 34% saving efficiency, helped Egypt stay in front, but Hungary constantly tried to pull some goals back. Attack after attack, the European side managed to claw back, even in difficult situations when they were two players down on the court for over 90 seconds due to suspensions.
With the back line firing from all cylinders, Hungary used a 3:0 unanswered run to erase three goals from Egypt’s lead, cutting the gap to only three goals (22:19) when there were a little over 16 minutes to be played, prompting a timeout from Egypt’s coach Roberto García Parrondo.
That timeout proved to be crucial as Egypt went on a three-goal run to establish the six-goal lead once again, only for Hungary to cut it back to two goals (26:24), when there were only nine minutes left.
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