The women's handball team can only save one shot in its Olympic aspirations. Against the powerful Netherlands it was impotence made handball (29-21), they capitulated as soon as they returned from the break and very soon forgot about the quarterfinals of the World Cup, the great objective because it gave them a direct ticket to the pre-Olympics. The collapse was absolute, although there is still a thread of life left to enter that tournament and dream of Paris 2024: it depends on Montenegro, which this Monday faces Sweden (8:30 p.m.), one of the hosts, in search of the quarterfinals. The Warriors have not failed in the Games since Beijing 2008 and watching them on television would be a wake-up call for the future.
After the defeat against the Czech Republic (30-22), the Spanish players said that they did penance in the hotel, met, conspired and appealed to faith. The effect was null. Losses – always losses – and a stunted attack buried any hope of victory. Only the final rebellion of rookie Danila So Delgado (five goals without a miss), who appeared with everything settled, prevented even more starving offensive numbers. The team was left with 22 goals on Friday and this Sunday it was even worse. The 21 holes in a current handball of great figures reflected the crash of the attack.
This is how a World Cup ended with bad feelings for Spain. Against the weaker rivals (Kazakhstan, Ukraine and Argentina), he went through difficult stretches; and against a power like the Netherlands and a team in a state of grace like the Czech Republic, the victory was a chimera. The arrival just a few months ago of Ambros Martín, the most successful coach of Spanish women's handball (four Champions Leagues), did not improve the previous situation. He is the third coach in this three-year Olympic cycle: Carlos Viver said goodbye in Tokyo 2021, José Ignacio Prades took the wheel in the 2021 World Cup and the 2022 European Championship, and in spring the Canary Islands landed.
“I assume full responsibility,” Martín stated in statements offered by the Spanish federation. He did not put hot cloths on the setback. “It has been total helplessness. We have not had the quality or clairvoyance to resolve certain situations. We have given balls to the opponent. That has punished us a lot. Too many mistakes in this type of match pay off. It's hard to finish a championship with this feeling. In the two key games is when we have made the most mistakes. We have to find a solution,” analyzed the coach, who also referred – “without that serving as an excuse” – to the physical problems of some players.
The fact is that, early in the afternoon, a small clearing opened in the black sky of Spain with the defeat of the Czech Republic against Brazil (27-30). He eight thousand What was ahead was the same, but he would raise it with oxygen. He no longer had to win by a difference of four goals against the Netherlands to secure the quarterfinals, but a draw was worth it. It was of no use.
Losses and poor attack
Reaching halftime with just nine goals was the clearest sign of premature death. Spain broke out with a 2-4, clinging to the energy of Paula Arcos, but the flash did not catch on. The theory was repeated by all the players until exhaustion: losses had to be limited more than ever to avoid the fast play of the Dutch. It was the same. The everyday black hole was still there.
And to that was added an obtuse attack, without external launch, insisting on a very powerful central zone of the orange, without finding the game on the wings and, in addition, missing some clear shots. For 13 minutes, the Warriors only scored one goal (from 2-4 in the seventh minute it went to 8-5 in the 20th). The defense was not bad, despite the damage that the game did to the pivot, but the offensive maneuvers took place in a dark tunnel.
The secarral could have buried any option for Spain, but Holland was not a beauty either. He lost as many balls at halftime as the team (10). However, he only had to wait for the law of gravity, thanks to his obvious superiority, to do its job to open the gap: 13-9 at the intermission.
What shouldn't be done when you return from the locker room? Losing balls. Well, the first three possessions of Spain went to hell. Without reaching the fourth minute, Ambros Martín had to press the time-out button and fight his team like he had never seen before in the World Cup. But the story was already written. There was no remedy. No one could stop the sinking. If Spain had a hard time finding extremes, the Netherlands had a freeway without tolls on the outside. Three goals in 15 minutes and the score at 21-12 closed an afternoon of helplessness for the Guerreras. Paris goes through a carambola with Montenegro.
Netherlands, 29 – Spain, 21
Netherlands: Ten Holte; Malestein (5, 2p), Housheer (2), Broch (-), Dulfer (2), Nusser (2) and Van Wetering (2) —starting team— Duijndam (ps), Van der Heijden (3), Abbingh ( 2), Haggerty (-), Smits (1), Sprengers (6), Vollebregt (-), Van der Vliet (3) and Polman (1).
Spain: Castellanos; Etxeberria (1), M. González (5, 1p), A. Fernández (2), Arcos (3), S. López (3) and Tchaptchet (-) —initial team— Zoqbi (ps), M. López ( -), Campos (-), Arderius (-), Somaza (-), L. González (-), So Delgado (5), Gassama (-) and P. Pérez (2, 1p).
Marker every five minutes: 2-2, 6-4, 7-5, 8-5, 10-7 and 13-9 (Rest) 16-10, 19-12, 22-12, 25-14, 27-19 and 29-21 (Final).
Referees: Hansen and Madsen. Broch (2), Haggerty, M. González and Tchaptchet were excluded for two minutes.
Arena Nord in Frederikshavn (Denmark). 1,314 spectators.
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