Lazarov gala performance crushes swiss hopes

Macedonia - Switzerland 27:20 (12:8)

If there was another proof needed, how important Kiril Lazarov is for Macedonian handball, it came in this match. The left-handed world-class player produced a brilliant gala in Skopje and - figuratively speaking – beat Switzerland on his own, scoring 13 of the 27 Macedonian goals. Already after the first half Lazarov's efficiency was impressive, as he needed just ten attempts to score seven of his team's first 12 goals.

However, the final result does not reflect Switzerland's performance, especially in the first minutes after the break, when they reduced the score from 8:12 at half-time to 11:12. But they lacked the stamina to keep this momentum going. Still led by the unstoppable Lazarov, Macedonia scored eight goals while Switzerland only netted twice, bringing the score to 20:13 in the 45th minute. And whatever Switzerland, who had their best scorer in playmaker Andy Schmid, tried afterwards, the Macedonians had a fitting answer – and many a time it was called Kiril Lazarov.