Offensive and Defensive Play in Handball in a 2-Year World Championship Cycle: Characteristics and Tendencies

Abstract

Introduction. The analysis of players’ performance with respect to technical-tactical actions is becoming a key factor influencing the focus of training programmes and the contents of training units. It also provides important information which can be used to improve players’ efficiency during the game. The aim of the current study was to analyse the efficiency of technicaltactical offensive actions in positional attack as well as defensive actions performed by handball players participating in two consecutive World Men’s Handball Championships, held in Spain in 2013 and in Qatar in 2015. Material and methods. The material subjected to analysis was data describing the technical-tactical actions performed during the World Championships in Spain in 2013 and in Qatar in 2015. We analysed offensive and defensive actions, including with regard to the continent the teams represented. We performed an analysis of the documents available on the IHF website. The significance of the differences found was verified using analysis of variance (ANOVA and MANOVA). Results. The study found a significantly lower number of offensive actions in positional attack (−7.5%) and turnovers (−26.4%), higher overall efficiency (+7.2%), as well as higher efficiency of 6-m shots (+9.5%), wing shots (+7.3%), and breakthrough shots (+11.4%) at the World Championship in Qatar compared to tournament in Spain. When it comes to defensive actions, there was a significantly higher number of 2-minute suspensions (+27.5%), with a simultaneous significant reduction in the number of steals (−55.7%) and shots defended (−13.3%). Conclusions. During a two-year cycle, there was a change in the concept of playing in positional attack. In 2015, there was a significantly greater number of actions leading to a shot in the region of the opponent’s goal area as well as a higher level of activity and more aggressive play on the part of defensive players. In addition, European teams had gained an advantage over teams from other continents in terms of the efficiency of the technical-tactical actions undertaken.

Decreasing number of distance shooting in handball – trend of nowadays male handball competition

“…However, under further investigation over the tactical situation, it's very important to highlight significant decrease of the quantity of distance shots, which are likely to be linked with the character of handball and the handball player silhouette [12]. Gryko et al [6] informed about decreasing number of 9 meter shots which has leveled at average of 17.3 shot per game in World Championships in 2015 and was significantly lower than in 2013 (-9.9%, p<0.05). In EHF EURO 2022, mean number of distance shots per game was only 11.9 what proves changing character of the game over last few years.…”

Influence of Tactical and Situational Variables on Offensive Sequences During Elite European Handball Matches

“…Concerning the numerical relationship between teams, we concluded that the chance of an offensive sequence ending successfully is 1.38 times higher when the observed team has a numerical advantage, whereas having fewer players on the field leads to a 36% decrease in the success rate of offensive sequences. In this sense, there seems to be a clear benefit to the teams that take advantage of situations when they have numerical superiority due to a 2-min sanction imposed on a player of the opposing team (Fasold and Redlich, 2018;Gryko et al, 2018).…”

Match Analysis in Handball: A Systematic Review

“…The following studies present indication related to other comparative analyses among several indicators in a handball match analysis. (Fasold & Redlich, 2018;Gryko, Bodasiński, Bodasińska, & Zieliński, 2018;Hatzimanouil, Giatsis, Kepesidou, Kanioglou, & Loizos, 2017;Meletakos & Bayios, 2010;Meletakos, Vagenas, & Bayios, 2011;Prieto, Gómez, & Sampaio, 2015a;Prudente, Sousa, Sequeira, Lopez-Lopez, & Hernandez-Mendo, 2017) (Table 5). This review was to determine the key indicators of discrimination in a comparative analysis between winners and losers.…”

“…In identifying the offensive and defensive situations during a two-year cycle, Gryko et al (2018) detects a change in the concept of playing in the positional attack in the 2015 championship in comparison to the 2013 championship; there were a significantly greater number of actions that led to a pitch in the region of 6 metres next to an opponent's goal area, as well as a higher level of actions and a more aggressive game by the defensive players; the European teams won more games than the teams of other continents, demonstrating a superiority in the effectiveness of the technical-tactical actions of the match.…”