7

Chile is probably the easiest opponent in the preliminary round group A, and Slovenia took advantage of this, earning the first win to take a step towards qualifying for the round of 16.

The match favourites were nervous in the first half, failing to build a comfortable advantage against the pesky Chileans. Slovenia managed a two-goal lead only in the closing minutes of the period.

Slovenians tightened up the defence in the second half to built a 10-goal lead (25:15) in the 41st minute, keeping a double-digit lead until the end of the match.

Slovenia will face a much tougher opponent in Belarus on Saturday, and will continue the group play on Monday against host nation Qatar after a day off.

Slovenia are defending fourth place from Spain two years ago, their biggest success so far at world championships.