A World Championship is the largest event in terms of number of handball participants. Without a doubt, post-Olympic Games competitions always have special characteristics and the case of Tokyo 2020 even more so. The pandemic has continued to interfere with the normal development of the championships, from the classifications to the competition itself. In addition, we must not forget the great psychological exhaustion that is causing a multitude of athletes.
For the first time, a women’s World Cup is held with 32 participants, with the classification of three teams from South and Central America. Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay meritoriously classified in the COSCABAL Championship, traveled to the event with different objectives.
The group draw provided that two of the three representative teams had to face each other in the first phase.
BRASIL
Brazil was able to beat Paraguay and completed this phase with full victories and displaying a brilliant game that raised the goal of being in the 1/4 final. Now he will have to face tomorrow, December 10, against Argentina to mathematically seal his pass among the 8 best in the world.
PARAGUAY
In the case of Paraguay, after their meritorious classification, and with the aim of accumulating experience at the intercontinental level, they suffered three defeats in the first phase. The one mentioned against Brazil and also against Japan and Croatia. Entering as third place in a world championship makes the group very complicated and with high-quality rivals.
Now, in the President’s Cup, the great victory of Paraguay against China (30-24), undoubtedly justifies the presence of the South American team in this World Cup. A country of barely 7 million inhabitants against another that has more than 1,600 million. This victory gives great value to the efforts made by all the levels involved in handball in the country. With this, Paraguay, confident of the extraordinary result, will try to overcome Slovakia and Tunisia in the following clashes.
ARGENTINA
Argentina returns to the World Cup event after its best historical classification in the 2019 World Cup in Japan. It seems clear that “La Garra” is designed to beat records. The group that the draw gave him was not easy, he had to start against the organizer, Spain, and perhaps that took its toll on the first day of competition. The ability to rise from the Argentine team is unusual, and for this reason, the second day again achieved a historic milestone for Argentine handball: it won for the first time a European team in a World Cup. That victory, coupled with beating China, has placed him in the Main Round.
The first game of that phase was not easy. Croatia, a great European power and that came from a very great performance in the last European, presented itself as a very complex rival. Argentina played a game that stood up to the Europeans and that managed to be competitive throughout the game. A pity that at certain times the greater experience in this type of matches of the Croats decided the party on their side.
Now Argentina and Brazil will reissue many of the great games they have played on the continent, but in the Main Round of a World Cup. The match is decisive for both, Brazil, if they win, will be classified once again among the world elite and Argentina will continue to compete to improve their extraordinary World Cup classification even more.
Tomorrow, Friday the 10th, it’s time to enjoy a great Brazil-Argentina match. You only must enjoy at the top of the handball spectacle offered by the COSCABAL countries.
Photo: IHF
