POWERPLAY 雜誌

Dear friends,

the 7th PPM Handball World Chamionship will soon begin and it will be hosted by Hungary, thanks to the votes of the national team managers. We'd like to thank them for the trust. As we have mentioned in our application, we'd like to make it more interesting. That's why all the six arenas will get a unique court surface. Besides that we asked the national team managers what they think about their chances, about their team's position or who will be the tournament's surprise team.

1. Which are the 3 strongest teams in the tournament in your opinion?
2. What is the biggest strength of your team? (goalkeepers, wingers...)
3. Who do you think to be the tournament's surprise team?

Czech Republic - miraboss

1. Poland, Slovakia Hungary, Czech Republic.
2. Goalkeepers.
3. Ukraine.

Iran - mehabad

1. Best teams are Slovakia, Czech Republic and Hungary.
2. Our wingers are the best.
3. Belgium will be the surprise of this tournament.

Brazil - joseh777

1. Poland and Slovakia, certainly would complement with Latvia.
2. Trust a lot in our goalkeepers.
3. Canada will havea good campaign this season.

Russia - Ad155

1. It is very difficult to select the top 3 teams. I think there are 10 really strong teams in the tournament. Look at the ranking. Each of them is very dangerous.
2. Defense line and coach :)
3. It can be any of the 24 teams: United Kingdom, Canada or Romania, why not?

Belgium - tyroncor

First of all, I find it a great event for handball. So I have put some effort in answering your questions.

1. The top 3 by Belgium:
   1. Czech Republic led by Miraboss. Together with Hungary one the 2 strongest teams in the race for the title. But I think the Hungarian players only have a bit more experience while the Czechs have better players.
   2. Hungary, even with the knowledge of Czech Republic - Hungary, they still rock! There are a lot of teams who have more than both and still have troubles like Slovakia
   3. The unspokken third as I might say, Russia... They stand second in their group together with Poland. They lost one time to the great Poland team and won a game against them. Except that they should have been the winner of the group, but they unfairly lost to China. Still they keep rocking, a great friendly game with the Hungarian team 30:20 loss, normal vs. very low. A very strong result for such a team!
2. The biggest strengths of the Belgians ain't the goalies, nor the pivots, nor the backs, nor the wingers! It is their upredictable results. When we need to win, we lose. When we are certain to lose, we win or draw. That's the only thing keeping me awake for qualifying for the WC. Something we Belgians didn't achieve in a few years.
3. Russia, see 3 strongest teams.

Slovakia - richi1222

1. Top 3? It's hard to answer this question, many teams are really strong, most powerful are Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Latvia or us, but in this game, with good tactic and luck you can beat the strongest teams.
2. We have really good goalkeepers, doesn´t matter who plays for us, whether it is Sadilek, Maláň or Mentel, all of them are the best of PPM GK and we have chance to win every match with any of them.
3. Surprise team might be Argentina, we lost to them, so they could have a good tournament and beat every top team.

Romania - elcomandante007

1. In my opinion, Poland has the best chance, followed by Slovakia and Latvia
2. For me the whole team and importance. I rely on attack.
3. Impossible to say, but I hope my team.

Latvia - cup

Ou, my first interview :D

1. I think Poland and Slovakia are the best handball teams on PPM. So My top 3 are Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia.
2. Latvian biggest strength have always been the goalkeepers, but in this tournament I think the biggest strength will be our wingers.
3. I hope that will be Latvia :D. But I think Canada could surprise us.

Sweden - emmppaa

1. Poland, Hungary and Slovakia.
2. I would say wingers if I have to choose. 
3. Sweden :)

Argentina - Chumscrubber

1. The strongest teams for me are the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia, although the latter is costing you, is recovering and yet not paid its peak.
2. While not they are giving things goalkeepers, but it's a team even in their lines.
3. Surprises will be Canada and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Estonia - Potomac

1. Slovakia, Czech Republic, Poland.
2. Backs.
3. Portugal.

Bosnia and Herzegovina - drazo

1. Poland, Slovakia and Czech Republic.
2. Offensive backs.
3. BiH :)

Canada - XaviesCrown

Great work Alan - Thanks for taking on an initiative like this to generate more interest in the World Chamionship.

1. Czech Republic were playing great in the qualifiers but they had a fairly weak division. Hungary's defence has been impressive and they shouldn't be overlooked. Argentina has surprised me, their win over Slovakia has kept them in the hunt to qualify. 
2. Youth - many of our key players should be on our U21 National Team. Canada should be solid for years to come because it's a young team.
3. I'll pick Canada as my darkhorse as their strong offense can pose a threat to anyone.

Slovenia - Lev84

1. Slovakia, Czech Republic, Poland.
2. We are a very balanced team, but a little stronger with goalkeepers. I think it will be crucial in some important games, if they play good.
3. That's a hard one, many teams are similar, anybody can beat anybody, but the team that can surprise I think is Bosnia and Herzegovina. They are always close to a medal, I think this year they are very strong.

Germany - DaCrow

1. I think Latvia, Slovakia and Poland are the 3 top teams, but we (Germany) also want to defend the 3rd place. Generally it's hard to say who are the best teams but the 3 I mentioned are in another league beause they have much better players than other teams.
2. In my team I think the goalkeepers are important because they are tournament players, they will become stronger and stronger during the tournament. But it isn't only the position of the GK's, all players are good at their positions. 
3. The surprise team: Lituania, because i can't understand why they are so bad this season. Last season we played the little final against them. Other teams for the title? Everything is possible but it's hard. 

Poland - Ratownik007

1. I think in the three favorites we can include teams from Slovakia, the Czech Republic and maybe our team.
2. It seems to me that it is hard to find in our strongest point of each team. Perhaps you are a back, who for several seasons are the same players. On the wing and pivot we have these players and need a little rip. On the other hand, I think that our weakest point is the goalkeeper, which is weaker than in many other countries.
3. I think Latvia can produce a surprise as they get better each season.

Ukraine - Surgery - general manager

1. National teams of the Czech Republic, Latvia, Bosnia and Herzegovina looked very good in qualifiers. But, to my mind, the top 3 in the World Championship are Poland, Czech Republic and Slovakia.
2. Without doubt, the strongest point of our team is the line of defensive backs.
3. We have been going to make our team showed good results. We found a balance in our national team. Our players felt the taste of victory. And I think that we can build on our success. So I hope that the tournament's surprise team will be Ukraine. I think we can fight for the top 3 places.

Ukraine - of42 - assistant

1. I think, the 3 strongest teams in the tournament are Poland, Hungary and Czech Republic. These teams do not spend a lot of energy of the major players and have the most powerful selection of players. I think the national team of Poland is the favorite in the tournament.
2. The strongest point of our team is the line of defensive backs. We have strong experienced players, who were joined with Melnyk, one of the best handball players. I will also note the offensive and defensive wingers of our team.
3. We hope that Ukraine will be the tournament's surprise team. We have kept a large number of players under the age of 22 years. In combination with the experienced players we have a battle-worthy team for the final part of tournament. The goal for the season is to advance from the group, but we believe that we have every chance to go further in the tournament. I should also note the national team of Canada. The team has a strong position of goalie. They also can be a surprise of the tournament.

Austria - Assassin32

1. Slovakia, Poland, Czech Republic.
2. I think our strongest point are the offensive backs.
3. I hope Austria will be the most surprising team.

Hungary - Alan Smith

1. Slovakia, Czech Republic, Latvia.
2. Goalkeepers, offensive backs, team morale.
3. Russia, and I hope our team too.

We'd like to thank all the leaders of the national teams that have answered and the positive response, great attitude to the article.

Good luck to every team and we wish you enjoyable matches in the tournament!

May the best team win! :)