France vs Saudi Arabia Prediction & Betting Tips - Handball World Championship

Prediction published on 12/01/2023, 15:15  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 13/01/2023 at 09:56 in Handball World Championship Predictions

France got their 2023 Men's World Handball Championships campaign off to a great start on Wednesday. They beat Poland (who are the co-hosts) 26-21 and another win over Saudi Arabia will take them into the main round. That win made it five successive victories for the French team. They won two European Championship qualifiers won in October and then a couple of wins in friendlies earlier this month. When it comes to the major championships, France are always there or thereabouts. Only twice in the last 15 world championships has France failed to reach at least the semi-finals with four titles won between 2009 and 2017. Last year saw them finish fourth in the European Championships and won the Olympic title in 2021.

It's going to be a tough battle therefore for Saudi Arabia. They lost their opening group game 33-19 to Slovenia and they look destined for another heavy loss here. With their final game being against Poland, they are odds on to finish bottom of the group and be transferred into the President's Cup. That determines the lower rankings for this tournament. The loss to Slovenia was the fourth in a row inflicted on Saudi Arabia who have only won one of their last six games. Another defeat looms on the horizon for them here against one of the strongest teams in these world championships.