The second of three matchdays of the 2025 IHF Beach Handball Global Tour: Finals in João Pessoa, Brazil has completed with the preliminary group stage concluded and finalists known for the last day of action on Sunday (9 November).

All eight national teams in the men’s and women’s competitions played two games each across the day, which featured a total of eight matches in the morning and evening sessions.

Brazil women on course for extending historic run

With two wins on day two, host nation Brazil made it three wins out of three on the Praia de Tambaú (Tambaú beach) and are in prime position to make it a unique run of three Global Tour titles in a row, after their 2023 and 2024 championship wins.

But they had to work hard to win their clashes on day two, seeing off both Spain and Argentina via shoot-outs in games which saw two very different sets in both.

A first set loss (24:28) in their morning clash against Spain had seen Brazil lead 16:12 in the sixth minute, but they found themselves on the end of a tough European response – the Spanish then scoring nine unanswered points to ensure a first set win.
 

This seemed to wake up the home side who then raced to a 14:2 lead in the sixth minute of the second set, to seal (22:12) the game going to shoot-out. After both sides scored their first five shots, Mariane Guimaraes Hanthequeste put the South Americans ahead and could celebrate soon after when Maria Asuncion Batista Portero missed the sudden-death shot.

In what would become a forerunner to the final on Sunday, the final women’s preliminary group game saw the classic South American derby, with Brazil taking a 7:6 shoot-out victory, after two very different sets; Argentina taking the first (17:8) – which saw them race to a 14:4 lead in the ninth minute – and Brazil the second (23:19), after scoring the last nine points to overturn a 14:19 deficit. Gisella Bonomi top-scored in the game, the Argentina player amassing an incredible 21 points.

“We’re really happy with how we’ve played in all three games,” said Brazil’s Patricia Scheppa, who scored 24 points in their two games on Saturday, to ihf.info. “The key has been our teamwork and communication; everyone is giving their best for the group. Each match was a little different. On the first day we needed to stay calm under pressure, and today we focused on improving our defence and keeping our rhythm in attack.”

For The World Games title-holders Argentina, the day seemed to be heading for disaster, that loss in the evening against Brazil preceded by an 8:2 shoot-out loss to Poland (1-2, 15:10, 10:17, SO 2:8), but combined with Spain’s clear win against the Polish side (2-0, 24:10, 24:8), it saw the South American team squeeze through to the final on set difference in their head-to-head record against Spain and Poland – all three sides ending with a single win, on two points each.

“I was a bit upset after the morning session because we played the worst match possible,” said Argentina captain Leticia Brunati to ihf.info. “I thought that we had to play better and fight more, but in the afternoon, we played a great match against Brazil. They played a good second set, and did great in the shoot-out.”
 

Hosts set-up to retain finals title

After their evening loss to Spain on day one, Brazil knew wins were what mattered on day two and they started emphatically, taking down world champions Croatia 2-0 (24:8, 10:6). Rai Goncalves scored all 14 of his points in a one-sided first set, which paved the way for a more dominant second period – the South Americans preventing Croatia from scoring until the final minute, at which point they were 10:0 up and the game was decided.

Ahead of that clash, Spain and Argentina had opened the second day of men’s competition, the European team winning 2-0 (22:14, 24:20) with a tight second set only being decided in the final seconds.

Those two early results saw Argentina and Brazil enter their final clash on two points each, both knowing a win in that final preliminary group game against each other would see them through to the final. After a clear first set victory by the hosts (22:16) which saw Brazil ahead by eight (18:10) going into the last minute, their neighbours turned it around in the second, just – Valentino Zocco’s single point at the death (15:14) taking it to shoot-out.

With Brazil’s Bruno Carlos de Oliveira first securing the sudden death, second round, after his equaliser at 10:10, he then sunk home the first in the second set of shots, with the unlucky Santiago Vidondo missing to hand their rivals the win and passage through to the final at their expense.

In the earlier evening game, Spain – already safely secured in the final – lost 9:8 to Croatia in the shoot-out with Fran Cvjeticanin top-scoring on 24 points in the game for the Croatians.
 

Who will be crowned 2025 IHF Beach Handball Global Tour champions on final day?

The third and final day of the 2025 IHF Beach Handball Global Tour – and end of the fourth edition of the event – concludes on Sunday (9 November) with four matches remaining: medal matches in both the men’s and women’s competitions.

Argentina will face Croatia for bronze and Spain take on Brazil in the men’s competition, while Spain face Poland in the women’s bronze medal match and the South American classic derby will end the women’s competition when Brazil take on Argentina in the final.

So, can the Brazilian women create more history and win their third, successive Global Tour Finals title?

“Winning the final and achieving a third consecutive title would be incredible,” says Scheppa. “It would mean a lot to all of us, not only for the team, but for Brazilian women and for beach handball in Brazil. 

“It would show the strength, commitment, and passion we have for this sport. We work hard every day, and continuing this legacy would make us very proud. We also hope to inspire the next generation of girls to believe that they can achieve great things too.”

Teammate Arianne Demetrio is well-aware of the threat posed by their neighbours.

“We know that Argentina is a very strong team, and our game against them yesterday was very difficult,” she said to ihf.info. “In the final, we need to stay focused, play with intensity from the first point, and trust in our game. We've already shown that we have the strength to win, so now it's about going in with intensity and leaving everything on the court.

“This team means a lot to me — we have an incredible mix of experienced players who guide us and younger players who bring energy and passion,” she added. “Everyone supports each other, and that's what makes us strong. Some of our players may not be so well-known yet, but they have a lot of talent and determination. This group represents the spirit of Brazilian beach handball well — joy, struggle, unity: one more dream doesn't hurt.”

Looking to block their progress will be Argentina, a side who have got the better over Brazil in recent years in major competitions.

But, despite the stakes on offer, Argentina coach Brunati is hoping to provide a spectacle in one of the annual beach handball highlights.

“Playing here in Brazil is always challenging as the crowd are very intense, so in the final we must be focused and calm, that will be key,” she said. “But the most important thing is that both teams play a great match and put on a good show of the sport for everyone.”

2025 IHF Beach Handball Global Tour – Stage 3: Finals
Date: 7 to 9 November
Location: João Pessoa, Brazil
Men's teams: Argentina (ARG), Brazil (BRA), Croatia (CRO), Spain (ESP)
Women's teams: Argentina (ARG), Brazil (BRA), Poland (POL), Spain (ESP)

Match schedule

Sunday 9 November

Men’s competition
16:30    3/4 Placement/Bronze-Medal Match: Argentina vs Croatia
18:30    Final/Gold-Medal Match: Spain vs Brazil

Women’s competition
15:30    3/4 Placement/Bronze-Medal Match: Spain vs Poland
17:30    Final/Gold-Medal Match: Brazil vs Argentina

All times local, all games will be streamed live and free on the IHF YouTube Competitions channel HERE.

Match results

Men’s competition
CRO vs ARG 0-2 (12:13, 14:20)
BRA vs ESP 1-2 (26:14, 19:22, SO 6:7)
ESP vs ARG 2-0 (22:14, 24:20)
CRO vs BRA 0-2 (8:24, 6:10)
ESP vs CRO 1-2 (21:18, 18:24, SO 8:9)
ARG vs BRA 1-2 (16:22, 15:14, SO 10:12)

Women’s competition
ARG vs ESP 2-0 (15:10, 25:24)
BRA vs POL 2-0 (14:8, 22:12)
POL vs ARG 2-1 (10:15, 17:10, SO 8:2)
BRA vs ESP 2-1 (24:28, 22:12, SO 12:10)
POL vs ESP 0-2 (10:24, 8:24)
ARG vs BRA 1-2 (17:8, 19:23, SO 6:7)

About the IHF Beach Handball Global Tour

The IHF Beach Handball Global Tour was launched at the 2022 IHF Men’s and Women’s Beach Handball World Championships in Greece and debuted in Gdansk, Poland, with Croatia winning the men’s tournament and Spain taking the top spot in the women’s tournament.

The following year, in 2023, the IHF Beach Handball Global Tour visited Brazil, Tunisia and Poland before the Finals Stage was held in Qatar with Qatar’s men and Brazil’s women taking the overall titles.

The 2024 IHF Beach Handball Global Tour was held in Brazil, Spain and finals, again in Qatar, where Brazil won both the men’s and women’s events.

2025 represents the fourth edition of the IHF Beach Handball Global Tour. Stage 1 took place in Hammamet, Tunisia, and was won by Spain’s women and Croatia’s men in June. Stage 2 was played in Laredo, Spain in July, with the host nation winning both competitions. And the final stage – Stage 3 – concludes the 2025 tour in João Pessoa, Brazil.

In a senior IHF Beach Handball World Championship or The World Games year, the IHF Beach Handball Global Tour Team consists of three stages, with non-event years reverting back to four stages. This year, The World Games took place in August, in the People’s Republic of China.