Portugal deliver dramatic comeback win against Egypt, Brazil make it two out of two

Reigning champions Brazil delivered a controlled performance against France, to take a 2:0 win, their second at the IHF Wheelchair Handball World Championship, while Portugal secured a 2:1 win over Egypt, in a hard-fought match, one of the most balanced yet at Egypt 2024.

GROUP A
France vs Brazil 0:2 (3:5; 3:9)

Brazil were unbeaten in eight matches prior to their showdown against France and were aiming to keep their streak alive at the IHF Wheelchair Handball World Championship, as they made a big step towards winning their group, with their second win in as many matches against debutants France.

However, it was not for the lack of trying for France, which conceded the largest number of points in the first match against Japan, 26, as they beefed up their defence and limited Brazil to only five points in the first set.

But with Brazil delivering fantastic firepower, and even keeping some of their resources for the second match of the day, the one against Japan, which will conclude the preliminary round at Egypt 2024, the South American side found themselves in a precarious position, with only the sheer talent of Anderson Ferreira and Marcelo Amaral helping Brazil control the match, taking a 5:3 win in the first set.

The reigning champions were unhinged in the second part of the match, with the second set being clearly controlled by Brazil, whose game looked better on both sides, despite France taking a 2:0 lead after one minute and five seconds. 

In fact, the European side scored only once in the next eight minutes and 55 seconds, with Brazil jumping to a 9:1 run, which decided the set and, subsequently the match, with the MVP of the previous edition, Guilherme Lourenco and Ferreira combining for six of the nine points.

Brazil are now sole leaders in the group, with four points, followed by Japan, with three points, and the USA with two points, with debutants France still looking for their maiden win in the IHF Wheelchair Handball World Championship. In the two final matches of the group, Brazil face Japan, while France meet USA.

GROUP B
Portugal vs Egypt 2:1 (7:8; 5:2; 5:4)

Fresh after their hard-fought win against Chile, where they won the two sets by one and two points respectively, Egypt were aiming to cement their status as the top team in Group B of the preliminary round at the 3rd IHF Wheelchair Handball World Championship, but were facing a strong challenge from Portugal, which also won their first match.

And this time around, the African side delivered a better performance in the first set, controlling it from start to finish, despite their top scorer in the first match, Magdy Talaat Abdo Abbas, failing to score a point in the first half. However, for Egypt, Mohamed Mohamed Hassabelnabi Ahmed took over, scoring seven of the eight points for the African in the first set, leading by example.

However, late in the first set, Egypt’s top scorer was disqualified, which handed a huge blow to their attacking prospects, which was there to be seen in the second set, after the runners-up from the first edition took the first set, 8:7.

In fact, Egypt failed to score for the first eight minutes and 13 seconds of the second set, but their defence still stood tall, preventing Portugal’s top scorers, Ricardo Queiros and Joao Jeronimo, to combine for more than eight points. However, Portugal were still ahead by the time Egypt scored their first point, 2:1, and had the biggest chance to secure the set and push the match into a decider.

Queiros scored again, and with 47 seconds left in the second set, the European side, winners of the World and European Wheelchair Handball Championship in 2022, had a 3:1 lead, which could have easily been cancelled by Egypt. Still, Queiros converted a penalty, ensuring the match is heading to the decider, as Portugal took a 5:2 win in the second set.

But with Egypt’s resources dramatically falling off, the African side could not defend Queiros in the decisive set, as Portugal forced their way into the win. Queiros was fantastic in the decider, scoring four points, via two spin shots, as Portugal built an early 4:0 lead which proved to be unassailable.

Egypt eventually tried to cut the gap, but by the time when Magdy Talaat Abdo Abbas hit his last spin shot, which went in, Portugal secured a 5:4 win in the decider, taking a 2:1 win and the points, which sees them in the first place, before their final match of the preliminary round, against Chile. On the other hand, Egypt, which are on three points, need a win against India in their last match to hope the first place in the standings, as they are now one point behind Portugal.