The first 17-20 placement round match in Pontevedra saw Bahrain take a one-goal win versus Chile after a game that was close the entire way. It was Mahmood Mohamed who scored the match-winning goal for his team, and secured them a place in the 2019 IHF Men’s Junior World Championship 17/18 play-off.

17-20 PLACEMENT ROUND
Bahrain vs Chile 30:29 (14:13)

While Chile entered the 2019 IHF Men’s Junior World Championship President’s Cup with one preliminary round victory behind them, Bahrain had yet to earn their first win – though they had come agonisingly close more than once in Group C. The first 17-20 placement round match in Pontevedra therefore promised an interesting 60 minutes, and it proved to be exciting until the end. 

When Bahrain had the last attack with 30 seconds on the clock, the score stood level at 29:29. With Chile’s defence working at 100%, it took Bahrain some time to find a gap, and it finally came on the left wing, where Mahmood Mohamed converted the winning shot in the dying seconds. It was exactly the same finish that had seen Bahrain defeated by Brazil at the end of their round three match – but this time, the spoils went to the Asian side. 

The greatest distance in the match was four goals, first when Bahrain pulled ahead to 11:7 in the 21st minute. The advantage did not last long however, as Chile fought back to a manageable one-goal deficit at the break. Bahrain returned stronger from the break and reopened the four-goal lead, 19:15, by the 38th minute. But the South American side came back yet again. 

Chile had scored the opening goal of the game, but after that point they did not hold the upper hand again until the 45th minute, 21:22. From that point, it was a tense and level race to the whistle. 

The top scorer of the match was Chile’s Aaron Codina, with a huge 11-goal effort.

Player of the match: Aaron Codina, Chile