Who can stop the samba-dancers on the beach? Only two teams have the chance to beat the strong Brazilians. If they can do this, they will be World Champion. If not, than the handball family will celebrate carnival in the Oman.  Now, here comes the team check of the four finalists.

 

Men's final

BRAZIL

The defending champion acted strong in the preliminary round. Only the Russians could beat the boys from the Copacabana. But in the main round the Brazilians acted with a lot of luck. They won all three matches after shoot out.

In the semi final the reigning champion returned to old strong: Brazil beat Croatia with a clear 2:0. “Basics were our strong defense and our good fast break”, goalkeeper Jaime Torres explained after the match. “Now we will defend our title from Antalya.” It will be the third title for the boys from Sugarloaf mountain after 2006 and 2010.

 

UKRAINE

The surprise team of this Beach Handball World Championship: No one had them on the sheet of favourites. But the East Europeans played seriously and with strong nerves. They reached the main round with a shoot out at the last match of the preliminary round against host Oman. The Europeans reached the semifinal with a shoot out against Egypt at the last match the of main round and they reached the final with a shoot out against the strong Russians. “We are even surprised by us”, goalkeeper Igor Chupina said. The 22 years young Sunny boy is the key player of the Ukraine. And Coach Olexandr Ganev ensures the next surprise. “We are indoor handball players”, he explains. “Beach handball is our kind of summer training. But we have not had the best conditions. The Ukraine was host of the Football European Championship last month. All the money we had in our country was invested in this event.” But the preparation of this National team ran seriously. “We were working hard for two weeks at the Black Sea”, the coach remembers. The Ukrainians are underdog in the final, but not without chances. The possibility, that the boys from Europe will become World Champion is high, if they win one halftime in the final on Friday 13 July. They are unbeatable in shootouts.

 

Women's final

BRAZIL

Brazil was the top favorite after preliminary round. The Pan-Americans played the quickest Beach Handball and acted with high precision. Brazil beat defending champion Norway with 2:0, the Europeans were without chance. But the favourite showed weaknesses on the main round. The “Samba-Girls” had to break hard resistance against underdog Uruguay and won with 2:1 after shoot out. Then Croatia stopped the South Americans for first time with a 2:1 in the seventh match of the tournament. And also Denmark beat the “Selecao” in the last main round match. “We are a little bit tired after the first strong matches”, goalkeeper Jerusa Diaz said. “But in semi final we found back to our strong shape.” It was a demonstration! Brazil played without mistakes in attack and with a strong defence. Norway fought brave but without chance also for a second time. After the match, the Brazilians wept tears of joy. “But if we would win the final match we will dance samba through the arena”, Diaz promises.

 

DENMARK

“We are red, we are white – we are Danish dynamite!” This is the battle cry of the Danish girls. And despite the high humidity on the beach of the Gulf of Oman the powder of the Danes remained until now dry. The Scandinavians were better day by day; made a slip only against Uruguay. But they beat at main round first defending champion Norway and after this also Brazil. “But we are not favorite for the final match”, Mathilde Jensen explained. “Our preparation time was only few days. Brazil prepared itself for more than 100 days for this tournament.” “No”, Jensen teammate is contrary to. “We beat Brazil on Thursday, why not on Friday?” The Danish team was Vice World Champion in Antalya (TUR) two years before. But to win against Brazil, the Danish dynamite in the final must remain dry.