African champions Zamalek of Egypt were beaten by Real Ciudad of Spain 28-22 in the Super Handball Globe opener in Qatar on Monday night. The European champions dominated the ball and put on well, as they were playing with eight veteran professionals. With this win, Ciudad are close to the semifinals. Despite the loss, the African champions could still qualify for the semifinals, if they beat the Brazilian champions Unbar on Wednesday. In Monday's night game, Zamalek introduced Karim Hendawi, Ahmed el-Ahmer, Mohamed Ramadan, Hassan Yousri and Mohamed Mamdouh. The Egyptian team stumbled more than once, so with their opponents exploiting Zamalek's confusion and shaky defence to create more attacks on the net. The European champions were 17-13 up at halftime. In the second half, Zamalek couldn't rebound and their opponents overpowered them. Zamalek coach Ahmed De'bes says that the team could atone for their loss in today's game. "The result wasn't surprising, as the players were tired, having been involved in local and regional championships, which meant they didn't have time to prepare properly," he explains.
