Paris 2024 | Spain mount comeback against Egypt to seal semi-finals berth

Egypt were leading for most of the regular time, but Spain drew level and sent the match into an extra-time, where they grabbed an extremely hard-fought victory, 29:28, throwing off the quarter-finals of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in style. 

PARIS 2024 OLYMPIC GAMES 
QUARTER-FINALS
Spain vs Egypt 29:28 a.e.t. (8:12, 25:25)

At Tokyo 2020, the two teams met in the bronze medal match, and it was Spain who celebrated a victory, 33:31. Now the European side won by even a smaller margin and stayed in the race, securing their fifth semi-final berth at the Olympics in history. 

Both sides looked nervous early in the match, and goalkeepers Gonzalo Perez de Vargas and Mohamed Aly made a string of saves, so the score remained 0:0 until the seventh minute, when Yehia Elderaa finally broke the deadlock.

Led by the former Spain head coach, Juan Carlos Pastor, Egypt took control of the game, as they defended well, and the Elderaa brothers and Ali Zein found solutions in attack. 'The Pharaohs" were in front 4:2, but Spain responded with a 3:0 run to take their only lead throughout the first half in the 14th minute.

But then the African team shut up shop, as the Spaniards struggled in attack, scoring just once in the following 10 minutes. Egypt's attack was not perfect either, so the first half was quite low-scoring, yet Aly's 50% saving efficiency helped "The Pharaohs" to create a four-goal advantage at the break.

Spain improved their attack after the restart and slashed the gap to two goals on a couple of occasions, but Egypt continued to play with confidence. The Elderaa brothers were their driving force, combining for 14 goals in this match, which is half of their team's tally, as their team were up 20:16 midway through the second half. 

However, Spain did not give up and improved a lot in the last quarter of the game. They switched to a "seven against six" game in attack, and Ian Tarrafeta rose to prominence, scoring six times in the second half. Aleix Gomes also contributed a lot, and after a long chase, his penalty shot helped the Europeans draw level at 24:24 with two minutes to play. 

Seif Elderaa then also scored from the 7m line, but Tarrafeta equalised, and while Egypt still had time for an attack, Yehia Elderaa's shot was saved by Perez de Vargas, so this exciting match went into an extra-time.

Now Spain seemed to gain momentum, yet "The Pharaohs" continued to fight hard, so the additional 10 minutes followed the same pattern: the Europeans drew level before Egypt equalized. But although Agustin Casado got a two-minute suspension late in the match, Spain earned a 7m shot, and Aleix Gomes converted it, scoring his ninth goal in the match from nine attempts.

It happened 27 seconds from the buzzer, and Egypt still had a chance to draw level, yet Seid Elderaa and Ahmed Hesham were denied twice by the brilliant Perez de Vargas, who had an impact in the crucial moments and finished the game with 17 saves and a 38% saving efficiency, securing Spain's win in this thrilling match, 29:28, clinching a semi-finals berth.