Paris 2024 | Simon's last-gasp goal helps Hungary to beat Brazil

Brazil were leading for much of the exciting match against Hungary, but the European side showed character and ultimately claimed their opening win in the competition, as Petra Simon scored the winner, 25:24, just five seconds from full-time. 

PARIS 2024 OLYMPIC GAMES – PRELIMINARY ROUND
GROUP B
Brazil vs Hungary 24:25 (15:12)

It was a close battle early in the match, with both sides taking turns in the lead. Powered by Katrin Klujber in attack, Hungary were the first to create a two-goal advantage, 6:4 in the 13th minute.

But Brazil then took a timeout, which seemed to affect their performance in a positive way. The South Americans improved their defence and enjoyed a 3:0 run, which helped them to take the lead. And while Hungary drew level several times in the following minutes, the Brazilians, who were looking for their second straight win at Paris 2024, already gained momentum.

The European side had many turnovers, which helped Brazil to pull clear. Powered by Bruna De Paula, they shot from all angles, and goalkeeper Gabriela Moreschi did a good job, having a 33% saving efficiency in the opening 30 minutes. Following a successful run, the South Americans extended their lead to 15:11 before Anna Albek's goal just before the break slightly lifted the Hungarians' spirits.

Hungary's Csenge Kuczora further cut the gap just 20 seconds into the second half, but then her team failed to score a single goal for eight and a half minutes, as Brazil extended their lead to five goals, 18:13, and seemed to be on their way to a victory. 

Yet the Europeans were not going to throw out the white flag, and they put pressure on their rivals. Hungary improved their defence and started to catch up, capitalizing on their rivals' mistakes. They needed some time to draw level, but when Kinga Debreceni-Klivinyi made the score 23:23 exactly five minutes from full-time, it looked quite logical.

Following some misses from both sides, the rivals were still level at 24:24 with one minute to go. Jessica Quintino had a chance to put Brazil in front, but her shot was saved by Blanka Böde-Bíró, who actually stopped 10 shots in this game for a 29% saving efficiency and restricted the South Americans to just nine goals in the second half.

Then Hungary took a timeout, and in their last attack, Simon scored her fifth goal in the match, becoming its top scorer and securing an extremely hard-fought win for her team, 25:24, which bounced back from an opening defeat against France.