Newly-formed Russian team take victory

Thanks to an extremely strong defence in the first half, and after an intermediate double-figured gap, Russia took a well-deserved 26:22 win against Switzerland. The final result does not reflect the rundown of the match, but underlines the fighting of the Swiss side in the last 20 minutes. 

GROUP 1

Russia vs. Switzerland 26:22 (13:7) 

• Russia had a flying start, pulling ahead to 6:2. Then both sides had problems in attack, but as Switzerland only scored seven goals in the first 30 minutes, this was the reason for the six-goal gap. 
• When youngster Elena Mikhaylichenko scored her fourth of five goals to make it 19:9, the deal was sealed - and Russia almost stopped playing with intent. 
• After the 21:11 score, Switzerland “won” the last 20 minutes of the match by 11:5. 
• Valeriia Kirdiasheva was the top Russian scorer with six goals, while Xenia Hodel and Saskia Kundig netted four goals each for the Swiss. 

Two 20 year-old top scorers 

Liudmila Bodnieva did not have an easy start as new Russian coach, as several key players such as Daria Dmtrieva, Anna Vyakhireva or Polina Kuznetsova had stopped playing for the national team. But the Russians are famous for bringing talents quickly into the senior level. So it was no surprise that two 20 year-old players were top scorers against Switzerland. CSKA star Elena Mikhaylichenko had already made her mark in the Champions League and the Tokyo Olympic Games, while Valeriia Kirdiasheva is quite new on the big stage.