Argentina produced a shock win in the final match of the 2026 South and Central America Men’s Handball Championship, taking the title with a hard-fought 26:25 win against Brazil, with the decisive goal scored with 12 seconds left on the clock.

It was Argentina’s second title in the history of the South and Central America Men’s Handball Championship, reclaiming their title after two consecutive Brazil wins, and a comeback to prominence, after conceding the titles in 2022 and 2024 in quite a clear fashion.

The 2026 South and Central America Men’s Handball Championship saw six teams battle for the title in Paraguay’s capital, Asuncion, but it became clear quite early that the battle was going to be between Argentina and Brazil, the two dominant forces of the continent.

After three matches, Argentina were having the upper hand, after their wins against Peru (49:17), Paraguay (45:15) and Uruguay (35:18). They had a goal difference of +79, better than Brazil’s +43, after their wins against Paraguay (40:15), Uruguay (33:25) and Chile (34:21).

 

However, Brazil turned the tables, after a dominating performance against Peru (66:14), while Argentina only mustered a 37:23 win against Chile, with Brazil affording a draw in the decider, with their superior goal difference, +95, to Argentina’s +93 before the final match of the competition, scheduled for Saturday.

The battle of the giants in the the 2026 South and Central America Men’s Handball Championship had everything. Brazil took an early 6:3 lead, with Bryan Monte da Silva scoring three goals in the first six minutes, but Argentina managed to weather the storm and managed to tie the score, 12:12, after 26 minutes.

They even took a two-goal lead at the break, 14:12, as Nicolas Bono and Martin Jung fired from all cylinders, and improved their lead to three goals, 19:16, after 40 minutes.

Brazil bounced back, thanks to their experience and depth, as Monte da Silva and fellow back Haniel Langaro each scored four goals in the match, while wing Rudolph Hackbarth improved his efficiency to seven goals, five of which came via penalties.

It was no surprise that Brazil took the lead back, 23:22, with seven minutes left, but the same scenario repeated itself. Argentina tied the score three times, then took the lead, with Jung and Bono scoring crucial goals, and, in the end, with two minutes left, it was anyone’s game, 25:25.

Brazil missed two shots, Argentina milked the clock to the best of their potential, and with 12 seconds left on the clock, Federico Gimenez scored his only goal of the match, to help Argentina claim the win, 26:25, and the title.

Bono was Argentina’s top scorer, with six goals, followed by three players with three goals.

It was Brazil’s first loss in the competition after 14 consecutive wins, with Argentina returning to the top of the continent. 

 

With three wins and two losses, Chile secured the third place in the final standings, while Uruguay’s 30:24 win against hosts Paraguay was the decisive match for the fourth place, which will see Uruguay return to the IHF Men’s World Championship. Paraguay finished fifth, while Peru ended on the sixth place.

Four teams from the South and Central American Confederation secured their place for Germany 2027 – Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Uruguay – with the 2026 South and Central America Men’s Handball Championship being a qualification event for the 2027 IHF Men’s World Championship.

Rudolph Hackbarth was the competition’s top scorer, with 37 goals, followed by Argentina’s Ramiro Martinez and Chile’s Erwin Feuchtmann, both with 28 goals. Brazil’s Mateus Cristian Martins Nascimento was the top goalkeeper in the competition, with a 44.8% saving efficiency, raking up 39 saves.

Credit photo: Handball SCA / Jorge Olmedo