A three-way tie ensued afer 10 matches at the Women's IHF Nations Trophy - Central American Zone, with hosts Guatemala pulling through and securing the title thanks to a better goal difference, in a three-way tie with Nicaragua and Costa Rica.

The three teams were joined by El Salvador and Honduras in the standings, with multiple objectives ready to be completed. While the first-placed team won the inaugural edition of the Women's IHF Nations Trophy - Central American Zone, the second one also secured their place at the 2026 South and Central America Women’s Handball Championship.

The competition took place between 29 September and 3 October in Gimnasio Alfonso Gordillo in Ciudad de Guatemala, with the participants facing off in a round-robin format, with the best-placed side taking the title.

There was plenty of drama in the five ensuing matchdays, with twists and turns which, eventually, set up a three-way tie, with the matches between hosts Guatemala, Nicaragua and Costa Rica deciding everything.

The three sides won again El Salvador and Honduras, but the first matchday also brought a statement of intent from the hosts, which took a 29:20 win against Nicaragua, which proved to be crucial.

Guatemala started off strong, and led by five goals, 9:5, after 14 minutes. Another 6:1 run opened a eight-goal lead, 15:7, and from that moment on it was only about damage control for Nicaragua.

As Irene Pamela Lopez Herrera scored eight for Guatemala, the hosts cruised to a 29:20 win, already boasting a nine-goal difference and the head-to-head result between the two contenders for the trophy.

In the second matchday, Nicaragua bounced back against Costa Rica, taking a 28:21 win, almost cancelling their deficit from the match against Guatemala.

Britany Massiel Bervis Alvarado was superb for her side, scoring 11 goals, with Nicaragua lamenting a slower second half, after they took a 14:5 lead after 27 minutes, but then scored a single goal in the next 13 minutes.

Nevertheless, Guatemala were in a position to win the competition provided they won against Costa Rica, but their attack was nowhere to be found, in the lowest-scoring match of the entire competition.

Costa Rica led at the break 9:4 and Guatemala were in serious trouble, especially as a three-way tie was close. By the 57th minute, they managed to cut the gap, 13:10, but eventually conceded a five-goal loss, 16:11.

However, the hosts had the best result in the three-way tie, where all sides had two points. But with Guatemala’s 29:20 win against Nicaragua, they managed to secure the best goal difference, 40:36, +4, with both Nicaragua and Costa Rica finishing at -2.

Therefore, the second qualification place for the the 2026 South and Central America Women’s Handball Championship was decided with the next tiebreaker, the number of goals scored in the head-to-head results.

Nicaragua were better than Costa Rica, having 48 goals scored to their opponents’ 37 and finished second, with Costa Rica clinching the bronze medals.

El Salvador finished fourth, while Honduras rounded up the standings. 

Nicaragua’s Britany Massiel Bervis Alvarado was the top scorer of the competition, with 28 goals, seven more than Honduras’ Zoe Aguilar Menendez and Guatemala’s Irene Pamela Lopez Herrera.

Photo credit: Handball SCA