Dutch handball players could not end their first World Cup participation positively after 62 years. Physically strong Serbia did slightly better with 32:30 in their last group match in Katowice.
Both the Netherlands and Serbia had no chance to advance to the quarter-finals beforehand. Germany and Norway are the best teams of the group in the last eight. Orange finished the World Cup in fourteenth place.
With a win, the Netherlands, which was accepted as a wild card to the World Cup, could have qualified for the Olympic Games qualifying tournament in Paris. Orange has the opportunity to qualify for the games for the first time in history through the 2024 European Championship in Germany.
Starting energetically with a fast and remarkable combination game, the Oranges took the lead 7-3. Sign with Serbian giants to take it to the next level physically.
red right away
This led to the score again (12-12, 13-13 and 15-15), but also 2.03 meters tall Mijajlo Marsenic was ejected after a hard foul on just 1.73 meters tall Luc Steins. placed.
In the first half the Netherlands took the lead at 17:15, but at the beginning of the second half Serbia took the lead for the first time (18:19). After that, the score remained the same for a long time.
The Netherlands lost 28:28 to Samir Benghamen with an automatic red card after three penalties. After that, Serbia took control of the game as Rutger ten Velde missed a penalty with the score 29:31.
farewell duel
For Iso Sluijters (32) and Jeffrey Boomhouwer (34) the end of the World Cup also means the end of their international careers. Sluijters and Boomhouwer made 105 and 101 appearances for Orange, respectively. Both veterans scored one goal each in the farewell match.
Dani Baijens (seven goals) and Kay Smits (six) were the Dutch’s most prolific players. Because of this, Smits closed the World Cup in Poland and Sweden with at least 44 goals, for now only two players scored more often.
Source: NOS
I’m George Gonzalez, a professional journalist and author at The Nation View. With more than 5 years of experience in the field, I specialize in covering sports news for various print media outlets. My passion for writing has enabled me to craft stories that capture the attention of readers all over the world.
