The Spanish women’s handball team took a fundamental step towards the pre-Olympic tournaments, by entering the second round of the World Cup in Denmark, Norway and Sweden with full points in their locker, after defeating Brazil 25-27 this Sunday. A victory in which the goalkeeper played a fundamental role Darly Zoqbi who with his eleven stops supported the Spanish team in a second half in which the ‘Guerreras’ could not defend the four goal advantage (12-16) with which they went to half-time.
In fact, the Spanish team seemed destined for a painful defeat when, with less than ten minutes remaining, the Brazilian team, led by an exceptional Ana Paula, stood with an advantage of two points (24-22). A difference that confirmed the problems of the Ambros Martin in a second period in which the ‘Guerreras’ bore little or no resemblance, both in attack and defense, to the brilliant team of the first half.
But when things were looking worse for the Spanish team, the irreducible character that has cemented the legend of the ‘Guerreras’ emerged, a combative spirit that was personified to say the least by the goalkeeper Darly Zoqbi and, above all, the young full-back. Paula Arcos. The player from the Norwegian Vipers, the current European champion, who until now had gone practically unnoticed in the championship, recovered at the moment of truth her best version, the one that has made her, at just 21 years old, the great reference of the Spanish selection.
Impenetrable in defense, where Arcos closed all the paths to the goal for the Brazilian players with sensational footwork in the final minutes, in attack it allowed Spain to turn the score around (25-26) with just over a minute to go. conclusion with two consecutive goals. An advantage that was in charge of consolidating for the Spanish team a sensational Darly Zoqby who with a new stop, the eleventh, at the launch of Bruna de Paulathe great star of the South American team, who gave rise to the Paulina Pérez which meant the final 25-27.
A triumph that will allow Spain with four points, the maximum possible, to a second phase in which the ‘Guerreras’ will face the Netherlands, the Czech Republic and the winner of Argentina-Congo in search of one of the first two places that They give the right to play in the quarterfinals, the gateway to the pre-Olympic tournaments.