Brazil needed to avoid a defeat against their continental rivals to book their ticket to the next stage and after a slow start, they claimed the initiative and celebrated their fifth straight win at Spain 2021. 

MAIN ROUND GROUP IV
Argentina vs Brazil 19:24 (10:13)

The two South American sides have had a long-standing rivalry, and while Brazil seem to have more quality, Argentina tried to take control early in the game thanks to their morale and determination.

And they succeeded, as Luciana Mendoza, Lucia Dalle Crode and Elke Karsten scored three unanswered goals to put Eduardo Gallardo's team in front, 3:0.

Brazil's coach Cristiano Silva called for his first time-out before Patricia Matieli opened the team's account in minute 7. A few minutes later, the reigning South and Central American champions drew level at 3:3, but a tight and emotional fight continued as the rivals traded goals, with centre back Matieli scoring five of Brazil's seven first goals.

Only in minute 18, Giulia Guarieiro handed the Brazilians their first lead, 8:7, and as Barbara Arenhart started to stop one shot after another, her team used a 4:0 run to pull clear at 12:8 before Argentina slightly reduced the gap by half-time.

"We expected a hard game, because Argentina had been playing a good tournament. But we were mentally strong and managed to win," said Cristiano Silva. 

Argentina, who had only a marginal chance to reach the quarter-finals, basically had nothing to lose, as they had already written history by progressing to the main round. Brazil seemed to have more pressure on their shoulders, and they struggled again after the restart. 

But despite making a lot of mistakes, Silva's team continued to have the upper hand, leading 20:16 midway through the second half. However, they often stopped their opponents with fouls, and Argentina shot eight penalties throughout the match, converting six of them.

"I'm happy for Brazil, it's a pride of our continent that they reached the quarter-final. They beat us because of their experience and quality of certain players, but I'm happy with my team's development," said Eduardo Gallardo. 

Overall, both sides can hardly be proud of their shot efficiency, but still, Brazil had an efficiency of 52% compared to Argentina's 39%. But while Gallardo's team continued their resistance and closed the gap to 19:21 10 minutes from the final whistle, Brazil weathered the storm, and Arenhart denied Argentina any goals in the remaining time. 

hummel Player of the Match: Barbara Arenhart, Brazil

Photo: RFEBM / J. L. Recio