Third place and the last men’s place for the 2024 World Cup in China were defined with a golden goal. The Uruguayan team beat Chile 2-0 and qualified for the World Cup event.
Under a light drizzle, Chile and Uruguay were playing for the third step on the podium and the last place in the World Cup in China that will be held in June of this year. Chile’s goal in the first 5 seconds of the game made it seem like the Chileans were going for everything, but Uruguay’s quick response to equalize showed how even the match was going to be.
At times Chile took the lead, but Uruguay quickly tied it and was back on top on the scoreboard. The great performance of the Chilean goalkeeper, Hanson Lin, prevented the Uruguayan team from increasing the difference and they remained within two goals.
The set was defined in the final plays, because when there were only 5 seconds left to finish it, Juan Rubio, from Chile, scored the tying goal. But, the Uruguayan response was faster and with a shot from mid-court, when Chile was still not adjusting its defense, Fernando Sequeira gave Uruguay the victory in the last play of the set, winning 19-18.
The tone of the game continued in the second half. With a string of crossbars from the Uruguayan team and the effectiveness of the Chilean defense. However, the effective counterattack by Santiago Rodríguez from Uruguay gave the celestial team the tie, forcing the set to be defined with a golden goal.
Finally, Mauricio Gallo’s goal gave Uruguay the bronze medal. La Roja was on the verge of forcing the match into a shoot-out but saves by Uruguayan goalkeeper Richard Bica de Dominicis ended the Chileans’ hopes.
The first game of the day belonged to Paraguay, who beat Peru 2-0, obtaining fifth place in the tournament.
Post-match statements:
Mauricio Santiago, Uruguay national team player: “We were given what we wanted, which was to qualify for the World Cup, it was what we came looking for. Although we wanted to be in the final, it was not given to us this time, but we continue working to reach the world championship in the best way”.
Matías Veneros, player of the Chilean national team: “We knew that it was a match in which the team that made the fewest mistakes was going to win. We ended up making some mistakes at the end of the last two sets, which are due to inexperience. We leave with a bitter taste, knowing that we could have achieved the great objective we had”.
The definition for the gold of the South Center of Beach Handball, Asunción 2024 can be seen through our YouTube channel Handball SC América.
https://www.youtube.com/@HandballSCAmerica
Photo: CoSCABal/Camilo Rotela
By Camila Miranda.
