Esperance Sportive de Tunis opened the 2017 IHF Super Globe placement round with a clear win against debutants Naft-O-Gas-Gachsaran.

Placement match: Naft-O-Gas-Gachsaran (IRI) vs Esperance Sportive de Tunis (TUN) 28:35 (12:16)

Naft-O-Gas-Gachsaran had a stronger start to the match, taking an early lead before Esperance Sportive de Tunis came back to level the score at 3:3 just before the 10-minute mark. The score remained locked until ES Tunis created the first two-goal advantage at 8:6 in the 18th minute, after which the African team maintained firm control through to the final buzzer, increasing their advantage to a decisive seven goals. 

A key to the strong game from ES Tunis was the performance of goalkeeper Ahmed Amine Bedoui, who recorded a 57% save rate in the first half and finished with 46% overall. Both coaches barely changed their line-ups through the first period, at the end of which only 12 players had contributed to the score board. 

ES Tunis took a four-goal lead into the half-time break, and though Gachsaran tried different tactics defensively in an effort to control the strong attack against them, the match belonged to the African team. As the last quarter of the match began, Tunis were in front 27:20 and were on their way to the 5/6 placement match.