The 2026 South and Central America Men’s Handball Championship has passed its halfway point, with two teams still in the mix for the title – usual suspects and continental powerhouses Argentina and Brazil, which have won three out of three so far and secured their berths for the 2027 IHF Men’s World Championship.

The competition threw off on 19 January, in Asuncion, Paraguay, with six teams at the start, which are due to play in a round-robin format until 24 January, with the champion decided after the last day.

So far, two sides have been head and shoulders above the others – the two sides which have won each of the past three editions of the competition, Argentina and Brazil, setting up a crunch clash for the title in the final match of the 2026 South and Central America Men’s Handball Championship, scheduled for Saturday, 24 January.

Currently, Argentina hold the advantage of the goal difference, after some excellent performances, where they dominated against Peru, 49:17, Paraguay, 45:15 and Uruguay, 35:18, but the most difficult matches, against Brazil and Chile, the most experienced teams in the competition, are still yet to come.

Nevertheless, the winners of the inaugural edition of the competition, in 2020, provide the top scorer of the competition, Ramiro Martinez, who scored 23 goals from 30 shots, and have by far the best attack, with 129 goals scored, and the best defence, with 50 goals conceded so far.

Brazil are not far behind, as the only team able to match Argentina, but their approach has been somewhat different, trying to integrate several new players in the squad and handing them more time on the court.

The champions of the past two editions started off with a 40:18 win against hosts Paraguay, following with a 33:25 win over Uruguay and a 34:21 win over Chile, as they are ramping up their form and looking at a stronger and stronger performance, before they meet Peru and Argentina in the last two matches.

Four spots are available for the 2027 IHF Men’s World Championship in this continental event and Brazil and Argentina have already sealed theirs for the world handball flagship competition, after opening up a six-point lead with two matches left ahead of Uruguay and Peru, which have zero points after the first three matches.

Chile are also close to make their ninth consecutive appearance at the World Championship, after their wins against Uruguay (40:22) and Peru (40:12), being virtually ensured of their appearance at Germany 2027. 

The battle between Paraguay and Uruguay will likely yield the fourth team qualified for the 2027 IHF Men’s World Championship, with the two sides meeting in the fourth matchday of the competition, on Friday.

Argentina’s Ramiro Martinez is the top scorer of the competition so far, with 23 goals, followed by Chile’s Erwin Feuchtmann (17 goals) and Peru’s Jordan Alejandro Araya Paniagua (17 goals).

The 2026 South and Central America Men’s Handball Championship will conclude on Saturday, when Argentina face Brazil in the last match of the competition. The two sides have finished on the top two places in the three editions so far, with Argentina winning the title in 2020 and Brazil aiming for the third consecutive trophy now, after wins in 2022 and 2024.

Photo credit: SCA / Jorge Olmedo (@olme_ac)