Why the World Cup qualification comes at exactly the right time for the ÖHB handball players

If Austria’s handball team emerges victorious from the matches against Georgia tomorrow in Tbilisi and on Sunday in Vienna (both live at 4 p.m. on ORF Sport Plus), they will take part in the World Cup finals in January 2025 in Croatia, Denmark and Norway.

• Also read: All trophies have disappeared at HC Linz

There may be two opinions about the date – the international matches interrupt the decisive championship phase – but in view of the self-confidence of the ÖHB men, the qualification play-off could hardly be more convenient. Because many of the red-white-red protagonists travel to the national team with notable successes in their luggage.

Above all, Mykola Bilyk: The captain recently achieved a small handball miracle with Kiel. With a 31:21 second leg win in the Champions League quarter-finals, he and his “Zebras” made up for the 30:39 away defeat in Montpellier.

“That was unbelievable,” says the 27-year-old, who played a key role in reaching the Final Four with seven goals. “The last few weeks in Kiel were very intense, but a lot of fun,” says Bilyk.

Brois Zivkovic quickly settled in in Flensburg

Speaking of the European Cup: One class lower, in the European League, Boris Zivkovic managed to make it to the final four with Flensburg-Handewitt. The Vorarlberg native came to the North German top club at the beginning of the year from the Polish club Azoty-Pulawy.

• Also read: Why Marcel Hirscher didn’t run the first kilometer of the Wings for Life Run, but walked

“It wasn’t easy to join in the middle of the season, but I quickly got a lot of playing roles,” says the left-hander, speaking of the privilege of being able to play and train with world-class players every day.

Elias Kofler also brings euphoria. In the previous season, the 23-year-old was handball player of the year in Austria and secured early promotion to the first Bundesliga with Potsdam in his debut season in Germany.

Lukas Herburger, who is heading for the Swiss double with the Cadets Schaffhausen, is riding the wave of success. However, the defense chief, who is moving to the Füchse Berlin next season, had to withdraw from the ÖHB team due to thigh problems.

Then there are the players from the domestic league, the majority of whom have just secured their place in the semi-finals. This also applies to Linz goalkeeper Florian Kaiper.

Although team boss Ales Pajovic’s selection recently missed out on qualifying for the Olympics for the first time, this did not affect the self-confidence gained during the outstanding European Championships in January, as Bilyk repeatedly emphasizes. Opponent Georgia is considered an outsider, but Zivkovic warns: “We saw at the European Championships that Georgia left their mark there with the victory over Bosnia-Herzegovina. Their players are involved in good leagues.”