Chile seal second place in President’s Cup Group II

24 Jan. 2021

Chile seal second place in President’s Cup Group II

Chile might have been down by three goals in the 20th minute against Morocco, but they only conceded five goals in the last 37 minutes of the game to seal a superb win against the African side, 28:17.

Mateo Garralda’s side sealed second place in Group II and will play the team that finishes second in Group I in the 27/28 placement match on Wednesday.

PRESIDENT’S CUP GROUP II
Morocco vs Chile 17:28 (12:14)

There were five lead changes in a complex first half, that saw Morocco take an early lead, only for Chile to bounce back and fall again, but eventually sealing a defining 5:0 run to get the lead at the break.

The game was expected to be tough and physical and this is exactly what the two teams did, yet the deadlock persisted until late in the half.

With right back Rodrigo Salinas serving a one-game suspension after a direct red card against Austria, Chile had to rely more on fellow left back Erwin Feuchtmann, the third-best goal scorer at Egypt 2021, with 37 goals.

It was not the worst plan for Chile, as Feuchtmann scored five times in the first half, including two crucial goals in the last six minutes, setting up a superb 5:0 run to end the first 30 minutes.

But it was Morocco’s game to lose, especially after failing to score in the last seven minutes of the first half. A flurry of turnovers and a timeout taken at the worst possible moment from coach Noureddine Bohadioui affected the African’s side rhythm, as the win looked difficult to claim.

A 5:2 run to start the second half was exactly what Chile needed to secure their second win at Egypt 2021.

As Feuchtmann became more of a facilitator than a scorer, hummel Player of the Match Esteban Salinas and left wing Sebastian Ceballos were responsible for scoring, combining for six goals in the second half.

Boasting an eight-goal lead with 12 minutes to go, 24:16, Chile were in no danger of collapsing and with Morocco drained physically, scoring only four times between the 23th and 49th minutes, it was game over.

Chile’s decisive win, 28:17, secures second place in the group. It was also the game in which Chile conceded the lowest amount of goals at the IHF Men’s World Championship.

Mateo Garralda’s side will proceed to play in the 27/28 placement match against the second side in Group I of the President’s Cup.

Morocco finished third and will play in the 29/30 placement match, against the third-placed team in Group I on Wednesday.

hummel Player of the Match: Esteban Salinas, Chile