In the top-class main round group III, Portugal and Brazil sensationally prevailed on Friday and are in the quarter-finals of a handball World Cup for the first time ever. The Portuguese celebrate their brothers Costa, the Brazilians their goalkeeper Rangel da Rosa.
With 20 saves and 48 percent of balls saved, the 28-year-old was player of the game and guaranteed the 27:24 (14:9) success. The Scandinavians were weakened by a controversial red card for Felix Möller (24th minute) and had major problems with the Brazilians’ physical, fast-paced handball.
Even from another red card (40th), this time against Brazil’s best thrower to date Bryan Monte (four goals), the Swedes couldn’t really benefit. Jim Gottfridsson’s team fought its way to 17:18 (45th), but immediately conceded a 1:5 run and seemed broken.
Da Rosa becomes a Swedish nightmare
In this phase, Rosa in the Brazilian goal gave the game the decisive impetus and secured their own lead with his actions. The victory meant that several favorites, including hosts Norway and the former world champions Spain and Sweden, were eliminated.
Martim and “Kiko” Costa dominate the brothers’ duel
Portugal had previously made it into the top eight for the first time. Opponents Spain, who desperately needed a win, started without the two stars in the backcourt – Alex and Daniel Dujshebaev. The pair of brothers only came at the end of the first half, when Portugal was about to equalize the early 8:12 deficit (20th minute). The Portuguese’s “mini catch-up” was successful: thanks to a quick 5-1 run and an accurate Salvador Salvador (4 goals), the score was 15:16 at the break.
After half-time, Portugal started the next run, this time Spain remained goalless for ten minutes and conceded six goals – 19:16 became 19:22 (43rd). When the Spaniards did finish, Portugal goalkeeper Diogo Marques was usually there.
The 20-year-old from FC Porto shone with twelve saves after his early substitution, securing his team a surprising 35:29 (15:16) success. The best throwers were Francisco Costa (eight goals) and Salvador Salvador (six). With a win against pointless Chile on Sunday, Portugal can win the group and would meet Germany in the quarter-finals. Brazil would have to deal with Denmark.
Norway says goodbye to home World Cup with victory
Due to the successes of Portugal and Brazil, Norway was already eliminated before the game began. Nevertheless, the hosts wanted to say goodbye to the Oslo home crowd with a win and they achieved that with a 39:22 (16:11) win against Chile. The Norwegians’ best player, in the absence of the injured Sander Sagosen, was Kasper Thorsen Lien (10 goals). The right winger repeatedly scored easy goals on the counterattack and contributed significantly to a conciliatory World Cup conclusion.
Group IV: Unleashed Croats play Iceland apart
In front of a frenetic crowd in Zagreb, Croatia has put itself in a good position to reach the quarter-finals. The previously unbeaten Icelanders fell behind shortly after kick-off and were never able to match the energy level of the hosts. In the 32:26 (20:12) win, the injured captain Domagoj Duvnjak celebrated a surprising comeback after there was even talk of a World Cup exit.
By winning with a 6-goal lead, Croatia also wins the direct comparison with Iceland and Egypt. A win against Slovenia in the final group game would be enough for Dagur Sigurðsson’s team to move into the last eight. Iceland won by three goals against the African champions, who in turn defeated the Croatians by four goals.
Egypt wins and aims for the quarterfinals
In the main round group IV, both teams still had hopes of reaching the quarter-finals. Both Egypt and Slovenia have only suffered one defeat in the tournament so far. The Egyptian middleman Seif El-Deraa led his teammates in an exemplary manner throughout the entire first half, directed cleverly and scored five times himself. With a 16:14 half-time lead, the “Pharaohs” started the second 30 minutes dominantly and with a lot of conviction. They kept the gap to two or three goals until the final phase and the game languished a bit.
Seconds before the end, Slovenia’s 19th technical error cost them a last-minute equalizer. When the time was right, Aleks Vlah played the fifth and therefore irregular pass instead of looking for the finish himself. This means that Egypt has a good chance of progressing at this World Cup. The Slovenian Blaž Janc (8 goals) was voted best player of the game in the 25:26 (14:16) defeat.
Argentina is happy about the first Main round victory
Even before kick-off, the game in the Arena Zagreb no longer had any relevance for the rest of the World Cup. The teams were both without a win at the bottom of the table in main round group IV. The South Americans still celebrated a surprisingly narrow 30:26 (14:14) win against Cape Verde. This means that the island state remains without a win in the main round. The best player of the game was former Barcelona keeper Leonel Maciel (13 saves). At Cape Verde, left back Délcio Pina stood out with ten goals.
In Poreč, Croatia, Japan and Bahrain dueled on the second matchday of the President’s Cup II. The Japanese team prevailed 31:27 (12:13) and celebrated a quite surprising victory. Cuba sniffed at a win against the USA for a long time, but in the end they narrowly lost 26:27 (14:15).