After the 2026 IHF Women’s Beach Handball World Championship concluded in Croatia, IHF.info spoke to the players and coaches involved in the medal matches (Sunday 28 June).

Final/Gold Medal Match: Argentina v Denmark 2-1 (20:14, 14:27, SO 6:2)

Leticia BRUNATI (Argentina), coach – gold

On winning gold:
We did a really good job today, Denmark too. It was a very tough game. Denmark played the second set very, very good and we played the first set very good. Just the other day we lost [against them in the preliminary group] so we tried to change some things and we did it.

On the saves from goalkeeper Alma Jazmin MOLINA:
I said to Alma Molina; ‘today you are going to be a star’. And she was.

On holding the ‘trifecta’ of championship titles: continental, world and The World Games titles:
We need to work double [to keep at this level], but now it’s a vacation on the beach.

On her player Zoe TURNES, winning the MVP of the championship award:
She's the soul of the team. Every time she is pushing this team to be better and better.

On what emotions she feels when she looks at her gold medal-winning team:
Happiness, because they work a lot. I push the girls all the time to be the best.

Lucila BALSAS (Argentina), player – gold

On coach Leticia BRUNATI:
She's really inspirational to us. She teaches us how to be as a person and as a player and we are so grateful to her for that.

On her teammate Zoe TURNES, winning the MVP of the championship award and Alma Jazmin MOLINA being in the All-star Team as best defender:
Zoe is the player with so much…she's so inspirational for us. She leaves all that she has on the court, and she pushes us to be better. I admire Zoe. Alma is our defender. So we are really happy for them. They transmit all the strength to us that there will be no goals.

Gisella BONOMI (Argentina), player – gold

On what the difference was between Argentina and Denmark in the final:
Trust in the process. We needed to lose [against Denmark] the first time in the first half of the tournament (preliminary group) because we are constantly learning. Even from the world championship final in China (2024), we now know that everything is necessary.

We are really happy and enjoying this moment, because, as Lucila says, today we are here, and tomorrow we don't come back. We are world champions.

Zoe TURNES (Argentina), player – gold

On winning gold:
We're really happy to have won this world championship. We want to thank everyone who came to see us. We truly felt at home. This is the result of so much hard work and effort that no one can imagine. t's a dream come true, just one more. But this journey doesn't end here. We're going on, and we're going to Argentina for everyone.

Morten HOLMEN (Denmark), coach – silver

On winning silver after experiencing the same most recently in 2012:
When the match ended, I was disappointed and all the girls were disappointed. But now (ahead of the medal ceremony) we just regrouped and told ourselves that we have played a very good tournament. 

We will be proud when we go on the court to get our silver medals. We'll be proud as hell. We have made a good reputation for Danish beach handball, so now I'm a proud coach.

On if the level of competition in 2026 has made it harder to win silver compared to last time Denmark won silver, back in 2012:
I totally agree. It's a tough, tough game now with many good teams. To get a silver medal in this group here it's very, very good. We are proud. Argentina was a good team today. Wow, they were good. We played a good second set, but they were the best team in the shoot-out by far.

On losing to a team which now holds the ‘trifecta’ – continental, world and The World Games titles and if that was a challenge for them to face such a strong team:
Yes, and that's a problem for us in Europe. We cannot play this team maybe every second year. We have to come and play some more games with these teams because they play on another level than we play. Maybe we must try to go to and IHF Beach Handball Global Tour some more, maybe, and play against Brazil and Argentina before we come to a championship. But now, we will just be proud with the silver medal.

On his player, Line Berggren LARSEN, being named as best playmaker in the Croatia 2026 All-star Team:
She's good. She's very, very important for our team and she's a very good player. It's the first time she is there. She could also have been the MVP. Now she's the best playmaker, and that's fine. I'm happy for Line, she deserves it.

Line LARSEN (Denmark), player – silver

On her silver medal:
I'm proud, but a little disappointed, because I wanted to win the gold medal. I'm really proud of my team and I love to play with these girls. We can be proud of ourselves.

On how hard it was playing against Argentina:
It was really hard. It's a great team, with really good players. It was a tough match, but a fun match. I love that it's hard. It has to be like that in the final. The level of the match was really high, and so I'm proud that we got one set, but Argentina is really good. They deserve it.

On her feelings after losing to a team which now holds the ‘trifecta’ – continental, world and The World Games titles and if that makes it easier:
Right now, no. It's painful. I wanted to win the gold medal, but I'm proud of my silver medal, and a little disappointed as well. But it's congratulations to Argentina; they deserve it. It's a mix of emotions right now and also motivation to want to come back and do it all again, but [next time] with a gold medal.

On making the All-star Team as best playmaker:
It means a lot. It's nice to be recognised. I'm really proud of that, I'm really happy and proud of the recognition. But most important is how we play as a team and how far we came as a team.

Bronze Medal Match: Spain v Brazil 2-0 (21:20, 25:16)

Juan Pablo MORILLO BARO (Spain), coach – bronze 

On winning bronze:
This bronze medal is good. It feels like gold, it really does, because we created a new project with many young players for whom this was their first international competition.

They bonded really well and we managed to put together a competitive team. Today we were able to play our best game and get rid of the thorn in our side from the semi-final match (which they lost).

On adapting the team due to the injury-loss of leader and captain Asun Batista ahead of the championship:
The injury was a very significant loss for us. We had to replan the team and adapt our playing style. We designed a playing system that allowed us to continue competing even without our pivot player, who has been a clear international role model for us for many years.

On integrating youth team players from the 2025 IHF Women’s Youth Beach Handball World Championship-winning team into his senior squad:
This is crucial because we don't have the opportunity to participate in friendly matches frequently, and the leap from youth to adult competition is very big.

Having experience in European or international competitions, including the IHF Youth World Championship, allows them to compete at a high level at a very young age. 

We're a young team but we've achieved a great success with this bronze medal, so we're very happy.

It's very, very important for us that these young players on the national team, who have also had significant success in Spain, and are European and world champions, gradually make their way into the senior national team. 

On the difference between Brazil and Spain:
Of course, Patricia ENCINAS GUARDADO (goalkeeper) played well against Brazil, but all the players were finally able to develop the style of play we wanted, the style we tried to implement throughout the tournament against Croatia, Germany, and the Netherlands, all very strong teams. 

Today, they were finally able to play freely and with confidence and the result has given them a boost. It reinforced their confidence throughout the match to continue in that vein, and they really enjoyed it.

It was very important not to play under pressure, not to play with a sense of necessity, but to enjoy themselves, playing the way they know how. That was a very important mental aspect in order to win 2-0 when we knew that reaching the shoot-out would have been very difficult for us, very difficult to win. We were very mentally prepared for that.

On his goalkeeper, Patricia ENCINAS GUARDADO, being named best goalkeeper at Croatia 2026, for the third, successive world championship:
She's an example of dedication and commitment. She's our captain who works and performs her duties as captain in an exemplary way. She's a role model in Spain for all young players, someone all should look up to in terms of commitment, hard work, sacrifice, quality training, and the desire for more, the ambition. I'm very happy for her. It's a team sport, but she's a key player both on and off the court for us.

Malena DIAZ COPPENS (Spain), player – bronze

On the different emotions compared to losing the semi-final and then winning bronze:
We're really excited and really grateful for this (bronze medal), because yesterday we thought we could win (in the semi-final) but we didn’t do a great job and we got really nervous. Maybe the nervousness did everything in this match.

But today we wanted to give all of us and we did it; the attack, the offensive part of us did it really well since the beginning, and today, not like yesterday, we showed what the team is and we're really grateful for this.

On why it was important to show who Spain ‘are’:
Spain for many years has been incredible. Spain constantly has teams with different, new players and we wanted to demonstrate that each player in Spain, each person, can do this. Today we demonstrated that and we're really grateful for that and really excited.

On beating Brazil, who have beach handball legends such as Renata SANTIAGO and Patricia SCHEPPA in their squad:
It's an honour to play against them, because they are beach handball. They are the creators of beach handball so we're really glad to play against them, and better than that, beating them. We respect them a lot. The physical (power) is incredible, and also their (technical) qualities. For us, it's history to beat them. This is motivation to continue trusting and to continue working for the people who come.