Angola, who have not missed a World Championship since 1990, were seen as strong favourites against the Islamic Republic of Iran, who are debutants at this level. And the African champions were entirely dominant throughout the match, taking their second straight win and edging closer to the President's Cup final. 

PRESIDENT'S CUP GROUP I
Angola vs Islamic Republic of Iran 41:8 (24:4)

While both teams finished bottom of their preliminary round groups and had to continue in the President's Cup, their encounter showed that there is a huge gap between them. 

The much more experienced Angola took early control of the match, enjoying a 5:0 lead before Arezoo Kianara scored Iran's first goal in the 7th minute.

Time after time, the African team won the ball and scored from fast breaks, with their advantage increasing to 8:1 midway through the opening half.

Iran had the least effective attack in the preliminary round with just 45 goals but improved in the opening President’s Cup match against Uzbekistan, where they lost 32:37. But against a more compact Angola defence, the Asian side struggled again. Twenty minutes into the match, Angola already led by double digits, 15:4, and they went on to score nine more unanswered goals until the break. 

Their powerful line player Albertina Kassoma was on fire in the first half, as she netted seven times and propelled her team to a commanding 24:4 lead. 

"We were very focused and efficient from the opening minutes and made few mistakes, which allowed us to create a solid advantage already at half-time," Angola's coach Filipe Cruz said. 

After the restart, his team continued to enjoy full dominance and increased their advantage to 33:4. Iran were unable to score for as many as 24 minutes before Mina Vatanparast finally ended that drought.

Angola rotated their players, and as many as 13 of them found their names on the scoresheet, with Kassoma being the best with eight goals. Overall, the winners enjoyed a 71% shot efficiency compared to Iran's meagre 21%. 

In the end, it was not Angola's biggest win at the World Championship, as they defeated Australia 49:8 back in 2005. However, the final 41:8 score also looks impressive, and now the African team top the group with four points. 

hummel Player of the Match: Fatemeh Khalili, Iran

Photo: RFEBM / J. Navarro