Strong finish lifts Argentina past Congo for a main round spot

It was a well-balanced fight between Argentina and Congo for 50 minutes but the South American side claimed their first win of the 26th IHF Women's World Championship, after a stellar performance in the last ten minutes of the game, which brought a 31:26 win for Argentina.

GROUP G
Argentina vs Congo 31:26 (14:15)

Two years ago, Argentina and Congo managed to seal a main round spot for the first time in their history at the IHF Women's World Championship 2021. But this time around, at Denmark/Norway/Sweden 2023, only one of them was going to progress to that phase of the competition, after two straight defeats against the Netherlands and Czechia.

For the first 20 minutes of the game Congo looked to be that team, as strong performances from centre back Fanta Diagouraga and right wing Neida Klenn Divoko Kangou, helping open a four-goal lead, 7:3. But after Kangou fell awkwardly and got injured, things started to go awry for the African side.

While Congo maintained their efficient attack, taking advantage of the turnovers made by Argentina, the South American side's coach, Eduardo Gallardo, felt his players are losing their grip on the match and called a team time-out. The one minute break and encouraging words brought new impetus, primarily from goalkeeper Marisol Carratu. By the end of the first half, Carratu had six saves and helped Argentina to cut the gap to a single goal at the break, 15:14.

It was more of the same in the second half, with the two teams trading leads, while failing to score a goal between the 41st and 46th minutes. In the end, Congo did what they could, switching to a 5-1 and 4-2 defence, but Argentina were clearly stronger, using a 4:0 unanswered run to decide the game and clinch a 31:26 win.

The South American side will start the main round with zero points, but they reached their objective, while Congo head to the President's Cup, after a tough fight, decided in the end by their lack of experience and lack of depth. 

hummel Player of the Match: Fanta Diagouraga (Congo)