On their way to the semi-finals at Egypt 2021, Spain have quietly assembled one of their best-ever starts at the IHF Men’s World Championship, with six wins and one draw in the first seven games.

Since their first game in the competition, a 29:29 draw against Brazil two weeks ago, Spain have been nothing short of spectacular, despite shrugging off some key mistakes to take important wins against Poland and Germany, on their way to the final weekend in Cairo.

Every player has had their role throughout the tournament, as highlighted by their scoring chart – apart from goalkeepers Rodrigo Coralles, Gonzalo Perez de Vargas and Sergey Hernandez, all of Spain’s players have scored at least one goal.

Impressive as it might be, Spain have the second-best attack in the competition, scoring 229 goals, just behind Denmark’s 247-goal output, but the first Spanish player in the top goal scorer standings is only 22nd, Angel Fernandez Perez, with 31 goals.

It is a testament of the teamwork and of Jordi Ribera’s selfless style, which has made Spain a tough team to defend, as there are a plethora of solutions waiting to unlock the opponent’s defence by any means possible.

And maybe no other player has embodied the Spanish spirit better than playmaker Daniel Sarmiento. The 37-year old back has been a constant presence in the Spanish team since his debut in 2007, winning two gold medals at the Men’s EHF EURO in 2018 and 2020 and the gold in the IHF Men’s World Championship at Spain 2013.

Sarmiento is not the dazzling back who scores and assists at an alarming rate. In fact, at Egypt 2021, he has scored only seven goals.

Yet coach Jordi Ribera trusts him to do exactly what he does best. Fly under the radar, bait the opponents into tracking him, then unleash a creative pass that cuts through the defence to put a teammate in a perfect position to score.

Despite playing only 99 minutes at Egypt 2021, the lowest amount of minutes for a Spanish player who has played in all seven games in the competition, Sarmiento has dished 14 assists, only three assists less than Alex Dujshebaev, Spain’s leader in that category. But Dujshebaev has played 90 minutes more in the tournament.

“Every tournament is different, winning a medal here would be incredible. Being in the semi-finals is a prize for us, everything from now on will be a bonus. Progressing to this late stage in a competition is always very difficult and to be able to repeat this after the Men’s EHF EURO 2020, and for us winning here would be incredible,” says Sarmiento to ihf.info.

His performance in the quarter-final win, 31:26, against Norway was particularly eye-catching. Spain’s depth meant trouble for the Norwegian side, as Sarmiento replaced Raul Entrerrios in the first half. 

But the numbers – one goal and two assists – did not do Sarmiento justice. Always with a keen eye on the defence, the 37-year old playmaker drew the opponents on him, only to unleash the full force of the Spain attack on Norway. It quickly became clear that Spain were unstoppable and jumped to a clear 21:15 lead at the break. 

“I think our main strength relies in the unity of our team. We all try to play for the team, we won like this before and now we are trying to do the same, everything we can to secure another gold medal. We do respect our rivals, but we are a pretty good team again,” adds Sarmiento.

An eye on the future

Eight years ago, Sarmiento was not the star of the team, but was superb once again in helping Spain win their second world title after a lopsided final against Denmark.

The Spanish playmaker scored once in the 35:19 win, but had an impressive tournament on home soil. Now, at 37 years old, Sarmiento will be looking to add his fourth major title with Spain, as his career is almost at its zenith.

“We know Denmark all too well, they have a fast handball, therefore we need to keep our errors to the minimum. They are amazingly fast on the fast breaks and score with ease. It will be a difficult, difficult game,” says Sarmiento.

This could be the last IHF Men’s World Championship for Sarmiento, as well as for other key players like Raul Entrerrios or Viran Morros, therefore “Los Hispanos” are aiming to end Egypt 2021 on a high. 

But what about the future for the Spanish playmaker?

“It is pretty clear I want to continue my career in sport. I finished my coaching degrees. I am thinking about what I am going to do, so let us see how we go from this,” concluded the Spanish centre back.

One thing is sure, Sarmiento will have a keen eye on the Olympic Games in Tokyo next summer. A gold medal there and his career will be complete.