Pinheiros is getting ready to compete in the Club World Championship. The 19th edition of the men’s tournament will be held in Egypt from September 24 to 29.
The competition is being held for the third consecutive year in Egypt’s New Administrative Capital. South America will be represented by the reigning champion of the South Central American Club Tournament, E. C. Pinheiros of São Paulo, Brazil.
The team coached by Alex Aprile was crowned champion in Asunción in June. Pinheiros Wins the SCA Club Championship!
A lot of confidence
“Ever since we qualified for the Club World Cup, we’ve been planning to be in top form and put up a good fight against our opponents,”, said Aprile, the coach of Pinheiros.
“We know that the European teams are at a higher level than we are and that the Egyptian teams always have strong, high-caliber squads.
We’re going in with all our strength and motivation to represent Brazil and South America in the best possible way,”, the coach concluded.
Groups
Group A includes FC Barcelona (ESP), Montada (MAR), E.C. Pinheiros (BRA), and the winner of the first qualifying round.
Group B features Füchse Berlin (GER), Al Ahly (EGY), Burgan SC (KUW), and the winner of the second qualifying round.
The list of players on the team that will participate in the tournament:
Gonzalo Guerra, Marco Fiuza, Marcos de Oliveira, Pedro Rodrigues, Fabio Lima, Gabriel Reis, Gabriel Griggio, Emerson Santos, João Lindoso, Caue Ceccon, Ronald Souza, Guilherme Candido, Diogo Borja, Lucas Duarte, William Silva, and Philipp Seifert.
Meanwhile, the coaching staff consists of: Alex Aprile (head coach), Rodrigo Merlo (assistant coach), Ricardo Alves (strength and conditioning coach), Laís de Castro (physical therapist), Diogo Hubner (supervisor), and Luis Campos (administrator).
Tournament Format:
There will be 10 participating teams, and they will compete in a preliminary round consisting of two matches to determine the final two spots in the group stage.
- Preliminary Round 1 Match: Los Angeles Handball Club (USA) vs. Zamalek SC (Egypt)
- Preliminary Round Match 2: Sydney Uni (Australia) vs. Veszprém HC (Hungary)
The two top-seeded teams face off against an invited team.
The Los Angeles Handball Club, making its debut as the representative of North America and the Caribbean, faces Egyptian opponent Zamalek SC, which will look to capitalize on its home-field advantage to advance to the group stage.
Meanwhile, Sydney Uni, the team with the most appearances in the competition, faces Veszprém HC, a two-time finalist, champion in 2024, and runner-up in 2025.
Both losing teams will play two games for ninth and tenth place.
New day-by-day format
:
The 2026 edition increases the number of participating teams to 10, one more than in the previous two editions.
Six teams will advance directly to the group stage, while four will compete in a preliminary qualifying round before the start of the competition itself.
The teams eliminated in the preliminary qualifying round will play for 9th and 10th place.
Once the group stage is over, the competition will be a do-or-die contest for places 1 through 8.
The winners of each group will compete for the title; the runners-up will play for the bronze medal; and the third-place teams will compete for 5th and 6th place.
Meanwhile, the fourth-place teams will play in the 7th- and 8th-place games.
Relive the highlights of the SCA Club Tournament final that secured Pinheiros’s spot in the next round
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If you liked ” Pinheiros Prepares for the Club World Cup, ” you might also want to reread: Alex Aprile, Pinheiros’ coach, in Voces SCA
Photos: COSCABAL / Jorge Olmedo / Germán Paez
