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By:
Tahir Sopi
- April 9, 2023 23:10 am
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Qualifying for the World Cup seems almost impossible for Kosovo's handball players. But that doesn't mean they lack motivation for the second leg against Poland.
On Wednesday, from 20:15 p.m., Kosovo welcomes Poland in Pristina, in the last qualifying phase for this year's World Cup. On Thursday in Bielsko-Biala, Poland won with a convincing score of 36:22 in the first game. The deep defeat was especially influenced by the weak performance of the handball players of Kosovo in the first half of the match.
Kosovo has returned to the preparations for the second match, while the goal is a better performance than in Poland and also the most favorable result.
The main organizer of the Kosovo game, Marigona Hajdari, is optimistic about the next match with the Poles.
"Preparations are going quite well. We made mistakes in the first game, which I believe we will not repeat as we have worked to improve. We worked on individual and team things. I expect the gym to be full to help us get a good result. In the first game, individual mistakes cost us a deep loss, but I believe in a better performance and a better result in Pristina, as we have a quality team and I think we didn't show our true face in Poland", Hajdari emphasized. , who makes a career in the Danish elite.
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Optimism in Kosovo before the difficult match with Poland
In the first qualifying round, Kosovo eliminated the representative of the Faroe Islands. The draw of the second round did not favor him. Poland has players in elite European teams. Meanwhile, in Kosovo, the competition is not appropriate in some positions.
"Getting to this stage is not a little, but as athletes we aim for more and I believe that with this team we will have much greater successes in the future", added Hajdari. She plays in Representative along with her sister Arlinda Hajdari.
Even captain Leonora Demaj expects a significantly more favorable result than in Poland. She believes that losing by 14 goals does not show the true strength of Kosovo. Demaj expects support from viewers, just like Marigona Hajdari.
"We expect to give our best even though we gave it there as well, but maybe the audience here in Pristina helps us and motivates us for a good performance. With the support of the public I believe in a better game. I expect there will be a lot of people, even though it is Ramadan, but for this reason we have postponed the game later and I believe that the gym will be full. It is a big step for Kosovo, as it is the first time that we have reached this far in the qualifications for the World Championship and this is a motivation and hope for the future. But in order to reach further, we have to work a lot more", said Demaj.
On Sunday night, the representative held the next training under the orders of the selector Agron Shabani. The atmosphere seemed good as the girls are committed to a decent performance in Wednesday's game.
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"We expect a much better result than there, but we also expect the public's help in this difficult challenge, as we have a very strong opponent. But we will try to cope with the match better than in Poland. We have achieved the goal of coming here and we need a little more time, one or two years to make a higher cadre with the activation of young players to face the bigger teams", said the selector Shabani.
The handball representative is considered to have achieved the greatest success among Kosovo's representatives in the women's competition.
