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The Hispanos applaud the Spanish fans in Oslo after the defeat against Brazil. Susana Vera / Reuters
The Hispanos Conclude Their Disappointing World Cup with a Defeat Against Brazil

The Hispanos Conclude Their Disappointing World Cup with a Defeat Against Brazil

Jordi Ribera's team suffers from its inexperience following a challenging generational shift, resulting in the worst ranking in its history at a final stage.

José Manuel Andrés

Madrid

Domingo, 26 de enero 2025, 20:05

The Hispanos bid farewell to a World Cup where they had no chances left, with a defeat against the emerging Brazil, who also had nothing at stake after securing their quarter-final spot, where they will face the formidable Denmark. Thus, the Spanish team, amidst a generational transition, concluded a forgettable main phase with three losses in three matches, leading to the worst ranking in its history in a final tournament.

The match at least served to showcase the significant progress of the Cikusa brothers on a top-level stage. They are poised to become two of the crown jewels of the new generation, although they are still taking their first steps, with central Petar at Barça and right-back Djordje on loan at the equally powerful French Montpellier.

Granollers pivot Víctor Romero and the wingers from Melsungen and Ademar, Ian Barrufet and Carlos Álvarez, also made their debut in a championship where other extremely young players like Dani Fernández, Ian Tarrafeta, or Gurri gained more experience. This was the fundamental goal of these early Olympic cycle events, without the pressure of qualifying for the Los Angeles Games. That will be the main objective of the next World Cup, in 2027 in Germany, when the new wave should be ready to compete with the best.

Spain

Sergey Hernández, Barrufet (3), Sánchez-Migallón, Carlos Álvarez (2), Gurri (3), Tarrafeta and Garciandia (3) -starting seven-; Pérez de Vargas (ps.), Dani Fernández (2, 1p), Serdio, Romero (4), Solé, Casado (1), Petar Cikusa (4), Álex Dujshebaev and Djordje Cikusa (3).

25

-

26

Brazil

Nascimento, Matos Santos (3), Oliveira (2), Marcos da Silva (1), Monte da Silva (5), Barros (3) and Gustavo Rodrigues (1) -starting seven-; Da Rosa (ps.), Joel Rodrigues, Dupoux, Santista (1), Pinheiro, Hackbarth (6, 5p), Langaro (1), Acacio (1) and Carvalho (2).

  • Scores: 1-2, 3-4, 4-8, 6-9, 10-11, 13-14 -half-time- 15-15, 17-18, 18-21, 22-22, 22-24 and 25-26.

  • Referees: Lah and Sok (Slovenia). Excluded Pinheiro, Sánchez-Migallón (2), Monte da Silva and Santista.

  • Incidents: Third match of the main round of the Handball World Cup held at the Unity Arena in Oslo.

So far, in the first championship of the new era, Spain has not been able to reach the knockout stage, as in the 2024 European Championship, although the brilliant bronze in the Paris Games should not be forgotten, already without key figures from the previous era like Viran Morros, Gedeón Guardiola, or Joan Cañellas.

The World Cup, which began as expected with two convincing victories against Chile and Japan, and looked promising after the epic draw against Sweden, which seemed to be the biggest hurdle on the way to the quarter-finals, took a definitive turn with the defeat against the lacklustre host Norway. The Hispanos had that match in their grasp but allowed a comeback in the final stretch before capitulating against Portugal, undoubtedly the revelation of a tournament that demonstrates the development of handball in emerging teams like the Portuguese, Brazil itself, or Egypt, which has been among the powers for several years now.

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