An away win is always an important step towards qualification in a two-legged confrontation, and Belgium clearly took an option on Thursday night by beating Luxembourg by six on their own court.

It was only after half-time that they made the difference, after being challenged during the whole first part of the game. A number of saves by Jef Lettens and a glorious performance by Yannick Glorieux put Belgium on the right track ahead of hosting the return leg this weekend.

RELEGATION ROUND:
Luxembourg vs Belgium 26:32 (12:12)

• Luxembourg clearly had the upper hand in the first part of the match, taking a three-goal advantage half-way through. It was only thanks to Yannick Glorieux, who scored twice in the last two minutes, that Belgium were level at the break
• things were different when the game resumed as Belgium steadily increased their advantage up to seven goals with a couple of minutes left to play
• two players scored eight in the game: Luxembourg’s Raphael Guden and Belgium’s Yannick Glorieux
• the two teams will meet again on Saturday when Belgium host the second leg

Belgium’s new generation finding its feet

It might have taken a while for the new Belgian generation to find its own handball. Back in 2016, Belgium were the sensation after almost beating France in the EHF EURO qualifiers. Now the players are different, it took some time for this team to be built. But between experienced players such as Jef Lettens and young talented ones like Yannick Glorieux and Tom Robyns, this ‘new Belgium’ definitely has the potential to match its predecessor’s success.