Limiting Egypt to only three goals scored in the second half helped Argentina secure their main round spot, with a 27:14 win in the penultimate match of Group E at the 2025 IHF Women’s World Championship.

GROUP E
Argentina vs Egypt 27:14 (10:11)

Was it going to be Argentina or Egypt? This was the question asked for the last main round spot from Group E at the 2025 IHF Women’s World Championship, with Argentina needing at least a draw against the African side to progress for the third consecutive time in the next phase of the competition.

Argentina had the experience, while Egypt had the desire to prove they are better than their previous result, a 22-goal loss against the Netherlands, and for the first half, the African side, debutants at the IHF Women’s World Championship really delivered their best performance.

It was goalkeeper Gihad Sayed who really frustrated Argentina, delivering a monstruous performance with 10 saves for a 58% saving efficiency, constantly stopping one-on-one shots and taking the air out of any momentum Argentina might have had.

And despite this, the South American side still looked comfortable in the match, boasting a 6:3 and a 7:4 lead after 21 minutes, with everything under control, despite a shooting efficiency hovering around 50%.

But a flurry of mistakes and misses from the South American side saw Egypt bouncing back, as centre back Ehsan Abdelmalek, Egypt’s captain, scored five goals and dished two assists, leading the African side into an improbable 11:9 lead, after the African side finished the first half with a 5:2 run which turned the match on its head.

Argentina roared back with a 6:0 run to start the second half, as back Malena Cavo scored four of those goals to propel her side to a 16:11 lead, which forced a team time-out from Egypt.

But there was no question about the winner of the match from that moment on. Egypt could not score more than three goals in the second half and Argentina duly delivered a better performance.

Cavo scored six goals, while Elke Karsten added five more, to lift Argentina to a clear 27:14 win, on the back of a 10:0 unanswered run which proved to be the decisive moment of the match.

With two points in the group, but taking none in the next phase, Argentina progressed to the main round for the third time in a row, but their chances of building upon this performance will be slim. On the other hand, Egypt head to the President’s Cup where they aim to win their maiden match at a IHF Women’s World Championship.

hummel Player of the Match: Malena Cavo (Argentina)