Chile claim second straight win

After failing to take a single point at the group stage, Chile have so far been much more successful at the President's Cup, where they claimed their second straight victory.

In the South American derby, the Chileans were clearly the better side and now lead Group II with four points, while Uruguay are last-placed with no points under their belt. 

President's Cup Group I

Chile vs Uruguay 34:24 (17:13)

Chile were favoured to win this match, but the Uruguayans, who were determined to end their losing run, looked more focused early in the match. Their right back Maximiliano De Agrela was hard to stop, scoring four goals in the opening 10 minutes and propelling his team to a surprising 7:4 lead.

Coach Aitor Etxaburu took a timeout to wake up his team, and it worked, as the Chileans enjoyed a 4:0 run in the next six minutes to pull in front 8:4. Especially the Feuchtmann brothers, Emil and Erwin, were their driving force, scoring three of the four goals during that streak. 

Chile also started to play more aggressively in defence, with goalkeeper Felipe Garcia making a few saves, although his 24% save rate in the first half was hardly impressive. Still, Etxaburu's team took the match under their firm control and had another 4:0 run between minutes 24 and 27, so their four-goal lead at half-time looked well-deserved. 

This gap did not look hopeless for Uruguay, who were obviously willing to mount a second-half comeback. However, the Chileans had their own scenario in mind and started to bring it to life immediately after the restart. Following a 5:1 run, they increased their lead to 22:14 by the 40th minute, and the match was basically settled.

Not that Uruguay showed no signs of resistance, but the Chilean players showed better individual quality. Like in all four previous encounters, Erwin Feuchtmann became their top scorer, this time with six goals from seven attempts, while his brother Emil added three more to the team's tally. 

Chile will meet the Republic of Korea in their last Group II match on Sunday, while Uruguay will try to take their maiden points against Saudi Arabia. 

hummel Player of the Match: Erwin Feuchtmann (Chile)