Led by Manuel Zehnder
Handball-Nati starts successfully in the Yellow Cup
Coach Michael Suter’s team beat Japan 35:31 at the start of the 49th Yellow Cup in Winterthur.
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Manuel Zehnder convinces against Japan.
Although the Swiss are never behind, they are not able to pull away for a long time. In the 42nd minute it is 23:22 for the defending champion. Then the hosts pull away to 30:24 up to the 49th minute, which means that the preliminary decision has been made. With the 11th victory in the 13th duel, the Swiss remain unbeaten against Japan.
Director Manuel Zehnder, who scored eight out of ten shots in goal and is the most successful thrower among the locals, played a major role in the victory. The 23-year-old is contesting his first season in the Bundesliga with Erlangen and is definitely a promise for the future. Marvin Lier scored five goals.
Three debutants
Suter rotated vigorously. In the 17th minute he replaces all six field players. With builder Sadok Ben Romdhane, who was successful twice, and goalies Jannis Scheidiger and Mathieu Seravalli, three players are making their debuts in the national team. For the most part, however, Leonard Grazioli (eight saves) plays in goal. Top star Andy Schmid has to be satisfied with two goals, but he still underlines his class with brilliant passes time and time again.
On Saturday, the Swiss will meet Cape Verde, which lost the first game to Austria 31:39. The only duel so far was lost 22:24 against the former Portuguese colony in November 2021. (SDA)