It was suffocation, but the Brazil still alive in the dispute for a medal in handball in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. After losing to the group’s toughest opponents – Norway, France and Spain, the team went all or nothing and beat Argentina 25-23, and still have a chance of qualifying for the next stage. Brazil came to open ten goals ahead, lost focus in the second half, allowed the reaction of the biggest rival, but in the end won. In addition, it eliminated Argentina from the Olympic Games.
The last opponent in group B will be Germany, 4th place, who lost to Spain and France, but also beat Argentina. The teams face off on Sunday (August 1st), at 7:30 am (Brasilia time). The top four in each group qualify, so the only way for the Brazilian team to advance to the quarter-finals is, again, victory.
“We started very well in the first half, Ferrugem was exceptional and the defense hit everything we had agreed. level and let it serve as a lesson for the game against Germany,” said right-winger Rudolph Hackbarth.
Rust is his name
Brazil and Argentina were coming off three defeats in three games in the competition. And whoever lost would be out of the competition. The Brazilian team had been surpassed by Norway (27 to 24), France (34 to 29) and Spain (32 to 25). The Argentines were defeated by France (33 to 27), Germany (33 to 25) and Norway (27 to 23).
The selection was impeccable in attack during the first stage, and took advantage of failures in the Argentine defense to impose a good advantage on the scoreboard. Numerical superiority was also valued, as Argentina suffered from the two-minute exclusions.
But who really shined was Rust. The goalkeeper made beautiful saves – one of them, in the 23rd minute, quickly turned into a precise attack, when he passed Ponciano’s finish against Argentina’s goalless goal. In attack, João Pedro and Haniel were the highlights.
With an offensive efficiency of 74%, Brazil continued to harass the Argentine defense. The hermanos, however, continued to suffer from Rust’s game volume. The Brazilian archer stopped the opponent’s attack with eight saves. Thus, Brazil went to the locker rooms with a comfortable advantage: 14 to 7.
second-half oscillation
Without being on the court, Argentina suffered punishments for two minutes, and also had a player sent off in the first five minutes of the second stage. Haniel left for the confrontation and Martínez gave the combat. At first, the referee gave the penalty for two minutes – Moscariello was already serving the same penalty at that exact moment -, but when consulting the video referee, he decided for the expulsion. In advantage, Brazil took advantage, and doubled the score: 20 to 10 with less than 10 minutes.
If Rust turned out well, Rangel didn’t let it go. In the rotation of Brazilian players, the goalkeeper vibrated with a great save in a shot at the height of the area line.
Brazil gets complicated
The script seemed familiar — just like in the early games, in a moment of inattention, Argentina grew up in the game and hit the scoreboard. Brazil bet on quick shots, but did not count on a change of posture from Argentina, and lost many goals on the six-meter line.
Dramatic ending
In the final stretch, Argentina tried out a reaction. Taking advantage of the fact that Brazil lost focus in the match, with many ball losses in attack, the advantage dropped and the game, which seemed easy, had an electrifying final stretch. Argentina was better on both sides of the court, with defensive volume and attacking without a goalkeeper, to try to create offensive superiority.
In the 25th minute, Argentina reduced the difference to just two goals. With a lot of catimba and complaints on the court, Brazil got a shot from seven meters and a valuable punishment for Argentina. Rudolph converted the charge and guaranteed the difference on the scoreboard. At 28, Haniel risked for the goal without a goalkeeper, but from a distance, he knocked out. In Argentina’s response, Ferrugem once again shone, and prevented the 22nd goal.
Time and end!
With a few seconds to go before the final whistle, the Brazilian coach asked for time to organize Brazil’s final offensive. In a move designed by Léo, the idol of the national team who is now part of the coaching staff, Vinícius Teixeira scored a great goal after a pass by Gustavo, who found the player in the middle of the barrier. Brazil’s victory!
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