In a do-or-die final, Brazil defeated Argentina, 20:18, to be crowned champions at the 2026 South and Central American Women's Junior Handball Championship, after a flawless performance – five wins out of five matches – in the competition which took place between 12 and 16 January in Asuncion, Paraguay.

The competition was played in conjunction with the Continental Phase of the IHF Trophy Women – Junior for the South and Central American Confederation, with Colombia, El Salvador and Guatemala taking part, joining Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay in the mix.

The eight teams were divided into two groups of four teams each, with Brazil and Argentina on opposite sides of the draw and winning their groups with relative ease. They were joined by Uruguay and hosts Paraguay in the semi-finals.

In Group A, Argentina dispatched Colombia (45:18), El Salvador (48:14) and Uruguay (25:19) to secure the first place in the group, while Uruguay finished second, with a 47:10 win over El Salvador, a 26:19 win against Colombia and the loss against Argentina.

Brazil earned the first place in Group B with clear wins over Guatemala (40:8), Paraguay (36:27) and a 25:15 win against Chile, which saw the South American powerhouse have the best defense in the competition, with only 50 goals conceded in three matches.

Paraguay beat Guatemala (33:25) and Chile (31:25) to progress to the next phase, but they faced Argentina, which dominated the match from start to finish. After a slow start, Argentina got into groove and opened a three-goal lead, 8:5, only to see themselves tied, 11:11.

A 6:0 run spanning for 10 minutes was the key moment in the match, as Helena Albertina Molina and Luou Martina Genoud combined for 12 goals to lift their side to a 27:20 win.

 

Brazil had a similar win against Uruguay, 25:17, with Samanta Hevelin De Oliveira Martins and Raquel Cardoso Brandao Ladeia combining for 13 goals, while goalkeeper Sophia Ludwig Kieling had six saves, close to a 50% saving efficiency.

In the final, Brazil started off way stronger and a key ingredient to their win was a 7:0 unanswered run, which stopped Argentina in their tracks. For 15 minutes, Argentina did not score a goal, as Brazil went on a scoring spree to take the lead, 9:3, but then Brazil did not score for more than 10 minutes, as Argentina tied the score, 9:9.

Raquel Cardoso Brandao Ladeia had six goals for Brazil and was instrumental in helping her team secure the win, despite Argentina’s goalkeeper, Lola Valentina Nunez Fridmanas, saving an outstanding 19 shots, for a 48% saving efficiency. Eventually, Brazil sealed a 20:18 win to lift the trophy.

The 2026 South and Central American Women's Junior Handball Championship was a qualification event for the 2026 IHF Women’s Junior World Championship, with the top three sides in the competition – the teams finishing on the podium – earning their tickets for the world handball flagship competition.

The bronze medal match was a nip and tuck affair between Paraguay and Uruguay, and the hosts edged it by the skin of their teeth, with a 23:22 last-gasp win, after a fiery comeback, in which they limited Uruguay to only five goals in the last 26 minutes of the match.

Down four goals in the 34th minute, Paraguay made a furious comeback and Sahary Victoria Paredes Mujica scored the winning goal at the buzzer, ensuring that they make the cut at the IHF Women’s Junior World Championship for the second time in history, after their debut in 2018.

 

In the Continental Phase of the IHF Trophy Women – Junior for the South and Central American Confederation, Colombia were the highest placed team in the competition, after taking a 23:21 win over Guatemala in the Placement Matches 5/8 and ended up on the sixth place, with a 26:36 loss over Chile in the Placement Match 5-6.

Guatemala ended seventh, with a 34:18 win over El Salvador in the Placement Match 7-8.

Therefore, Colombia qualified for the Intercontinental phase of the IHF Trophy Women.

The top scorer of the competition was Fiorella Lujan Enriquez Borrell, from Paraguay, with 38 goals, followed by Colombia’s Sara Arroyave Calderón, with 31 goals, and Argentina’s Helena Albertina Molina, with 28 goals. 

Credit photo: Handball SCA / Jorge Olmedo