The opening match of the President's Cup Group I in Plock featured two teams who had lost all their matches at the preliminary stage and were looking for redemption.

Thanks to an improved performance in the second half, Chile earned their first win at Poland/Sweden 2023 and now lead the group with two points. 

President's Cup Group I

Chile vs Saudi Arabia 26:23 (12:13)

There was no clear favourite in this encounter. Still, Chile, who had narrowly lost to the Islamic Republic of Iran (24:25) and Montenegro (33:35) in Group A, enjoyed a better start of the match to lead 3:1. Yet Saudi Arabia, who had fought hard against co-hosts Poland in a do-or-die match in Group B on Monday, hit back by scoring three straight goals as their goalkeeper Mohammad Al-Salem stopped several balls.

A close fight followed in which both rivals missed many chances and could not pull away. Saudi Arabia had a slight advantage, which forced Chilean coach Aitor Etxaburu to take a timeout in the 20th minute as his team was down 7:8.

However, it did not really help his team. Although the South Americans drew level time after time, Saudi Arabia pulled in front again, and Yousof Al-Taweel's goal in the 30th minute helped them to take a 13:12 lead. 

It seems that Etxaburu found the right words at the break as Chile opened the second half with a 4:0 run before Ahmad Al-Abdulali scored Saudi Arabia's first goal in the second half in the 38th minute. The South Americans gained momentum as left back Erwin Feuchtmann came to prominence in attack, scoring six of his eight goals during the last 30 minutes.

With five minutes to go, Chile were in front 24:20 and while Saudi Arabia tried to play 7 against 6 in attack, their effort to avoid a draw did not bring any results, so the South Americans clinched a long-awaited win. 

On Friday, both sides will play their second match in the President's Cup. Both matches will be continental derbies: Chile is scheduled to meet Uruguay and Saudi Arabia will face the Republic of Korea. 

hummel Player of the Match: Mohammad Al-Salem (Saudi Arabia)