It was a dramatic match that wrapped up round three for Group C at the 2019 IHF Men’s Junior World Championship, which saw Brazil take a one-goal win with a goal in the last second from left wing Guilherme Torriani, who delivered spectacularly under the pressure. Bahrain held a four-goal lead at half-time, before Brazil came back for the tight race to the final buzzer. 

The victory took Brazil to four points, while Bahrain suffered their third close loss of the World Championship and remained on zero. 

GROUP C
Brazil vs Bahrain 27:26 (7:11)

It was a completely up and down match between Brazil and Bahrain, as the Asian team looked for their first victory at the 2019 IHF Men’s Junior World Championship, while Brazil fought for their second. After Bahrain controlled the first half and took a four-goal lead into the break, Brazil equalised the game in the second period and the last 20 minutes saw a thrilling race to the whistle. 

Brazil started with 6-0 defence then tried 5-1 after Bahrain claimed the upper hand in the opening minutes. The Asian team’s goalkeeper, Husain Mahfood, had a strong start, saving a penalty in the seventh minute. Bahrain created a decisive advantage of 9:3 by the 20th minute, before Brazil began to come back. 

When the second period began, Brazil continued to decrease the distance. They levelled the score at 15:15 in the 41st minute off a goal from Gabriel Reis. From that point, the game was on the edge. Though there were some bright moments, it was not the strongest day for either side’s keepers, but the score remained fairly low nonetheless due to the tough 6-0 defence played by both teams in the second period that made finding scoring opportunities difficult. 

As the last 10 minutes began, Bahrain held the edge at 21:20, and at the 55th, the score was level at 23:23. In the last 90 seconds, Brazil moved in front before Ahmed Ali equalised once more, with seconds remaining. Brazil called the final time-out with just 10 seconds left, and their left wing Guilherme Torriani then scored his fifth goal, under huge pressure and from a narrow angle, to secure the Pan American team their second win. 

Player of the match: Pedro Pacheco, Brazil