After two weeks of action on the beaches of Heraklion, Greece, the beach handball festival came to an end. In the last day of the IHF Beach Handball Women’s and Men’s World Championship -which was held after the Youth tournament-, the teams defined their positions in the world ranking and these were the results for the 7 teams that represented the continent.
In the case of the female branch, Argentina won by 2 sets to 0 to Portugal and stayed with the 7° place of the world ranking, equalling its position in the last edition of Kazan 2018. Despite their place, the Argentines made a great tournament and their player, Lucila Balsas, was chosen the best specialist of the tournament, being part of the ideal team.
Unlike the albicelestes, Brazil dropped 3 positions in the ranking, after losing 1-2 to Denmark and staying with the 6th place of the tournament.
The same suffered the Uruguayan team that went from 10° to 12° in Heraklion 2022. The celestes fell 1-2 to Norway in a game that reached a shoot-out shoot-out.
Results Female Branch:
7°-8° Argentina vs Portugal 2-0 (22:18/18:16)
11°-12° Norway vs Uruguay 2-1 (20:21/22:16/16:14)
15°-16° Australia vs Mexico 0-2
5°-6° Brazil vs Denmark 1-2 (18:14/16:20/6:7)
9°-10° Hungary vs Thailand 2-0
13°-14° United States vs Vietnam 1-2
3°-4° Greece vs Netherlands 1-2
Final Spain vs Germany 0-2
Women’s ranking Heraklion 2022:
1. Germany
2. Spain
3. The Netherlands
4. Greece
5. Denmark
6. Brazil
7. Argentina
8. Portugal
9. Hungary
10. Thailand
11. Norway
12. Uruguay
13. Vietnam
14. United States
15. Mexico
16. United States
On the men’s side, Heraklion 2022 was a surprise and a historic tournament for allteams.
First, Uruguay and Ecuador made history on Greek sands. The celestial team achieved its best participation in a Beach Handball World Cup, reaching 6° place in the world ranking, position that far exceeds the 15° position it obtained in Kazan 2018.
In the case of Ecuador, the team that participates for the first time in a World Cup of this discipline, managed to stay with the position n°13 after beating New Zealand for the second time. Thus, Ecuador closes its participation with 5 victories in its World Cup debut.
On the other hand, Brazil also marked milestones in its ninth World Cup participation. For the first time in its history, the penta-champion team did not play in a final and had to fight to get on the podium. Thus, the Cariocas faced Greece for the 3rd place of the tournament and were left with their first bronze medal after winning by 2 sets to 0.
Anyway, their players are still of the best level, since the historic Gil Pires was named part of the ideal team as best pivot.
Finally, and like their compatriots, Argentina remained with the same position of the last edition after defeating the United States by 2 sets to 0. Thus, the albicelestes remain with the position n°11 of the world ranking.
Male Branch Results:
7°-8° Norway vs Spain 0-2
11°-12° Argentina vs United States 2-0 (23:20/27:20)
15°-16° Puerto Rico vs Egypt 0-2
5°-6° Qatar vs Uruguay 2-0 (19:18/18:16)
9°-10° Iran vs Portugal 2-0
13°-14° Ecuador vs New Zealand 2-1 (22:14/22:24/8:2)
3°-4° Greece vs Brazil 0-2 (15:18/18:24)
Final Croatia vs Denmark 2-0
Men’s ranking Heraklion 2022:
1. Croatia
2. Denmark
3. Brazil
4. Greece
5. Qatar
6. Uruguay
7. Spain
8. Norway
9. Iran
10. Portugal
11. Argentina
12. United States
13. Ecuador
14. New Zealand
15. Egypt
16. Puerto Rico
Photos: CoSCABal
