Coach: Manuel Cadenas

 

Key Players: Diego Simonet (Centre Back), Gonzalo Carou (Line Player)

 

Qualification for the 2019 World Championship: 2018 Men’s Pan American Championship, Nuuk (GRL) – Winners

 

History in Tournament: 1954-95: DNQ, 1997: 22nd, 1999: 21st, 2001: 15th, 2003: 17th, 2005: 18th, 2007: 16th, 2009: 18th, 2011: 12th, 2013: 18th, 2015: 12th, 2017: 18th

 

Argentina lost to Brazil in the gold-medal game of the Toronto 2015 Pan American Games and had to wait three years to beat their neighbours again. On June 24, the ‘Albicelestes’ played a perfect match in the final of the Greenland 2018 Pan American Championship and claimed back the continental title they had clinched three times in a row — in 2010, 2012 and 2014.

 

The 29:24 score in that last derby between Argentina and Brazil is not precise enough to reflect how well the side coached by Manolo Cadenas performed. By watching that single game, it is impossible to understand how only 18 days before the Brazilians recorded a 25:22 victory against the Argentinians to take gold at the South American Games. For the Spanish-born coach “it was very difficult to imagine us playing the way we did against Brazil, dominating from beginning to end. I’m extremely happy and proud of these players.”

 

Argentina’s best rank at the Men’s Handball World Championship was 12th at Sweden 2011 and Qatar 2015. France 2017 was disappointing for the South American nation, who intend to express their best handball at Germany/Denmark 2019 and dream of making the second phase.

 

“With this new competition system only three teams will advance from each group and we know it won’t be easy. We are not favourites in group D but we may have our chances,” said Cadenas. “We need to play at our highest level first, and then I believe we can beat anyone. Argentina are used to getting good results against superior teams.”

 

At the same time of being coach of the Pan American champions, Manolo Cadenas is also guiding the Belarusian club Meshkov Brest. His assistant in Germany/Denmark is Guillermo Milano, who trains at least three times a week with a group of 22 players — most of them very young and with chances of integrating in the senior team in the future.

 

Almost 90% of the squad is formed by athletes who play for European clubs. In an excellent chance to reunite the team a few months before the final stage of preparation for the World Championship, Argentina had a training camp in Montpellier, France from 22-27 October which included a friendly match against the local club — winners of the 2017/18 edition of the EHF Champions League with Argentina centre back Diego Simonet as MVP of the final — as well as two other games.

 

Manolo Cadenas hopes to have their star ‘Chino’ Simonet and captain Gonzalo Carou, ASOBAL’s Abanca Ademar Leon line player, at their best for January 11, when they meet Hungary in Copenhagen in their first preliminary round match. In the previous week, they face Germany and Czech Republic in preparation games.

 

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Group at Germany/Denmark 2019

Group D: Sweden, Hungary, Qatar, Argentina, Egypt, Angola

 

Games at Germany/Denmark 2019
All times local

Friday 11 January            Argentina vs Hungary (18:00)
Sunday 13 January          Sweden vs Argentina (20:30)
Monday 14 January        Argentina vs Egypt (18:00)
Wednesday 16 January  Angola vs Argentina (15:30)
Thursday 17 January       Qatar vs Argentina (18:00)

 

IHF & Germany/Denmark 2019 Official Channels

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Photo: Argentina Handball Federation