Semifinalists confirmed in the Trophy + Handball SCA U18. Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil and Chile will seek the World Cup berths and the continental title.
Here is everything that happened on the third day of competition at the Polideportivo Alexis Argüello:
GROUP A
Argentina vs Uruguay, knew that the pass to the semifinals was at stake. The sky-blue team had difficulties in their positional position and only after 13 minutes of play they were able to score their first goal. This marked the superiority of the Argentinean team. An offensive game with fast transitions, allowed the team coached by Rodolfo Jung not to have many complications in the development of the game and the outstanding performance of Simon Vera, in goal.
Argentina won its third consecutive victory by 33-17 and qualified to the semifinals, where it will face Chile this Friday in search of the final and a ticket to the World Cup.
The top scorer of the match was Argentina’s captain, Francisco Colombo, with 6 goals. For Uruguay, Joaquín Ferreyra, Franco Carpinelli and Eluney Fernández scored 3 goals.
They were looking for their first win
At the end of the day, Nicaragua hosted Paraguay. An even and back and forth match between both teams. In the first half, Paraguay was up on the scoreboard for most of the game. With 10 minutes left and with the support of their fans, the locals managed to take the lead and go to the break winning by the minimum 19-18. In the second half, Paraguay came out with momentum trying to get their first victory. But the defensive mistakes made by the Guaraníes made the home team score in their favor. Then, with 5 minutes to go Nicaragua turned it around. The open defense by Augusto Paz, complicated Paraguay, who lost many balls at the end of the game.
The game closed with a 39-33 Nicaraguan victory over Paraguay. Nicaragua scored 2 points, leaving them in third place in the Group A standings.
Nicaragua’s top scorer was Oscar López with 7 goals.. While Francisco Ruiz and José Barrios, of Paraguay, scored 8 goals each.
GROUP B
Brazil and Chile opened date 3, in a match that promised good handball. The Chileans had problems with ball handling, which allowed Brazil to be strong on the counterattack. Chile was 10 minutes without being able to score. In this way the Brazilians closed the first half winning 11-6. In the second half, Brazil continued to dominate the game. Chilean coach Rodrigo Muñoz requested a time out and the story changed completely, Chile became strong on defense and with the help of its goalkeeper, Felipe Jofre, closed its goal. However, Chile did not have enough time and the game ended 21-19 in favor of Chile. the match ended 21-19 in favor of Brazil.
To the semifinals
Brazil qualified for the semifinals and this Friday will play Uruguay for a place in the final and qualification to the World Cup in Egypt.
The scorer of the match was Diogo Borja of Brazil with 9 goals.on the Chilean side Renato Calderón and Angelo Verona scored 4 goals each.
The second match of the third day of competition was Colombia vs Guatemala.
In a very close match, the Colombians were able to take advantage of Guatemala’s defensive errors and score to extend the lead on the scoreboard. Colombia led 17-12 in the first half. In the second half, the difference was in the amount of 2 minutes penalized. Guatemala received 7 exclusions so Colombia took advantage to play with an extra man, during most of the match. Finally, the team coached by Monica Ospina defeated Guatemala 31-27 and scored 2 points that left them with a 2-0 lead. and added 2 points that left them in third place in Group B.
The top scorer of the match was Martín Montoya of Colombia with 10 goals. Andersson Lemus and Javier Ortiz scored 6 goals each for Guatemala.
CROSSES
11:00 HS – Nicaragua vs Guatemala 13:00 HS – Colombia vs Paraguay 17:00 HS – Argentina vs Chile (SEMIFINAL 1) 19:00 HS – Brazil vs Uruguay (SEMIFINAL 2) Semifinalists confirmed in the Trophy + Handball SCA U18, you can follow all the matches live through Panam Sports Channel and on the IHF YouTube channel.
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Photos: CoSCABal / Carlos Montealto
By Rocío Mariel García Sigüen
