While the Spain women’s senior national team won the XXIV Torneo Internacional de España, a friendly tournament which also featured Germany, Slovakia and Poland, just before the start of the 25th IHF Women’s World Championship, ‘Las Guerreras Juveniles’, Spain’s women’s youth national team also won a friendly tournament.

The Scandiberico 2021 is a four-team friendly tournament, which featured two teams from Scandinavia, Norway and Sweden, and two teams from the Iberian Peninsula, Spain and Portugal, and took place in Figueira de Castelo Rodrigo, Portugal.

The Spanish side won their first two games, 25:17 against Sweden and 23:22 against Norway, after Marta Cuenca and Eider Poles scored eight goals in each of the two games.

With the title on the table, the Spanish side had to avoid a loss in the last game against Portugal to secure the trophy. And they did just that, after a nail-biting match, in which they were leading 18:16 at the break, only to stop a Portuguese comeback, as the match ended in a 34:34 deadlock, despite Spain leading by as many as four goals with only 12 minutes to spare.

Eider Poles and Lyndie Tchapchet each scored seven goals in the draw against Portugal, which eventually saw Spain lift the trophy, after securing first place with five points, with Sweden finishing second with four points, after their wins against Portugal, 27:25, and Norway, 27:24.

“It was a difficult tournament, with three opponents which tested us a lot. I am happy with our team, because they were strong enough to overcome any challenge and seal the win, especially in the do-or-die game against Portugal,” said Spain’s coach, Pablo Perea, according to the Royal Spanish Handball Federation website.

With a clear win against Norway, 25:22, Portugal were third with three points, as Norway ended in fourth place with three losses in three games.

“We know we are on the way up, we have to fight for each and every win. We are trying to get good results for the future and every player is responsible for our growth,” said Luis Santos, Portugal’s coach.

The 2022 IHF Women’s Youth World Championship is set to take place in Georgia next August after the 2020 edition was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

All four sides from the Scandiberico 2021, except Spain, are qualified, after earning their berths at the W17 EHF EURO 2021. Norway finished sixth, Portugal were 10th, while Sweden finished 12th in the tournament that took place in Podgorica, Montenegro in August 2021.

Photo: Royal Spanish Handball Federation