Brazil, Argentina and Chile will complete the line-up of 24 teams to contest the 2019 IHF Men’s Youth (U19) World Championship in North Macedonia in August, as they finished in the top three positions at the South and Central American qualification event played from May 8 to 12 in Taubate, Brazil.

 

Brazil finished the qualification event with a perfect record of five victories in the round-robin competition, thereby ranking first on top of the table with the maximum 10 points. Argentina placed second, thanks to four victories and just one defeat, versus Brazil on the final day of competition. Chile rounded out the top three courtesy of their three wins.

 

The top three sides all enjoyed a strong start to the qualification event, each taking wins in their first two games. Argentina opened with a 32:15 victory over Uruguay, Brazil defeated Colombia 46:14 and Chile won 32:25 against Paraguay. On day two, Argentina recorded a 32:21 win versus Colombia, before Brazil took a 32:20 victory against Paraguay. Chile closed the second day of competition with a 35:17 win versus Uruguay.

 

Chile’s first defeat came in round three when they took on Brazil, though it was a fairly close match with a 28:24 result in the tournament winners’ favour. Alongside Brazil, Argentina added a third victory to their record, 31:12 versus Paraguay. Colombia earned their first win on day three, beating Uruguay 26:24.

 

Chile found themselves under pressure as they lost for a second time on day four, 20:24 versus Argentina. Lucky for Chile, Paraguay kept Colombia from climbing the table ranking with their 28:23 victory – their first win of the tournament. Meanwhile, Brazil continued unbeaten, as they collected a 27:16 win against Uruguay.

 

With both Brazil and Argentina unbeaten, first place came down to their mutual clash on the final day of competition. Brazil proved their strength as they handed Argentina their first loss, 39:27. Chile also faced a high-pressure game, as they took on Colombia – but they recorded the necessary win, 33:21, that meant they finished third with six points. Paraguay opened the last day of matches with their second victory, 30:26 versus Uruguay.

 

The 24-nation list of participating nations for the Youth World Championship is now complete, and Brazil, Argentina and Chile can look forward to the draw on 29 May when they will learn their opponents for the group phase at North Macedonia 2019.

 

The 2019 IHF Men’s Youth World Championship will be played from 6 to 18 August.

 

FINAL RANKING

 

1 - Brazil (qualified for North Macedonia 2019)

2 - Argentina (qualified for North Macedonia 2019)

3 - Chile (qualified for North Macedonia 2019)

4 - Paraguay

5 - Colombia

6 - Uruguay

 

RESULTS

 

8 May

Uruguay vs Argentina 15:32 (7:15)

Colombia vs Brazil 14:46 (6:19)

Paraguay vs Chile 25:32 (12:16)

 

9 May

Argentina vs Colombia 32:21 (16:10)

Brazil vs Paraguay 32:20 (15:9)

Chile vs Uruguay 35:17 (16:10)

 

10 May

Colombia vs Uruguay 26:24 (13:10)

Brazil vs Chile 28:24 (12:15)

Argentina vs Paraguay 31:12 (13:6)

 

11 May

Paraguay vs Colombia 28:23 (17:9)

Brazil vs Uruguay 27:16 (13:9)

Chile vs Argentina 20:24 (10:14)

 

12 May

Uruguay vs Paraguay 26:30 (13:13)

Chile vs Colombia 33:21 (11:9)

Argentina vs Brazil 27:39 (12:18)

Photo: CBHb