Brazil’s men and women are champions of the 2024 IHF Beach Handball Global Tour after they won their respective competitions at the final stage of the tour on Thursday (7 November).

Stage 3 – the final stage – was played at the Al-Gharafa Beach Venue in Doha, Qatar across two days (6 to 7 November) with four men’s and four women’s national teams in action.

The South Americans won all four of their games each over the two days, with the women’s side defeating Spain and the men’s team beating Croatia in their respective finals to win gold.

To read the Day 1 Review, click HERE.

Brazil’s women defend 2023 title

It was rather appropriate that the team which plays in gold, needed a golden goal from a player with golden hair to win gold on the golden sand of Doha, but that was the case for Brazil as Lavinia Soares de Lima broke through the Spanish defensive lines on the left wing to shoot home the single point after being fed the ball by Beatriz Cruz to ensure a second period, and overall, 2-0 win.

That 2-0 (17:12, 21:20) victory for Brazil saw them defend their 2023 title won last year at the debut of the tour finale in Doha.

The first period against Spain had been equal (6:6) until the fourth minute, but a flurry of misses by Spain and saves from Brazil combined with Mariane Hanthequeste being fed the ball time and time again on the left wing to sink home, saw the South American side push ahead to 15:8, Spain being unable to score for four minutes.

But this did not dampen the European spirits as Spain came out for the second period full of energy in a noticeably more up-tempo affair. They did not trail for the whole 10 minutes and had the chance to win when they called their time out with just 20 seconds remaining (09:40), with the score deadlocked at 20:20.

However, their post time-out attack saw Ingrid Frazao pull off a fantastic save for Brazil to take the game to that golden goal period. Cruz then won the restart, and despite an injury pause resulting from the scramble for that ball saw a tense wait for action to start once again, Soares de Lima ensured the win.

Earlier on in the evening, Germany defeated Portugal 2-0 (25:22, 19:12) to win bronze and in the final group games of the day in the afternoon session, Brazil – already qualified to the final – defeated the Portuguese 2-0 (22:14, 17:14) with Camila Queiroga top-scoring on 15 points, and Spain confirmed their final spot with a 2-0 (8:7, 29:22) win over the Germans, which included 12 points from Sara Hernandez Torrico for the Spanish.

Brazil ended up as top-scorers in Doha with 145 points in their four games, one ahead of Germany (144) in second, and with the best defence (122 points conceded), three ahead of the Germans (125). Germany could boast Isabel Kattner as the tournament top-scorer, on 48 points, ahead of Spain’s Maria Asuncion Batista Portero, on 47. Kattner had scored 12 points in the bronze medal match to top the charts.



World champions fall to Brazil in men’s final

After Brazil and Croatia men’s sides won each of their two matches on day one, they knew they would meet in the final on day two, but first, they had to play each other in their final round robin group game.

In the dress rehearsal for the gold medal match, it went to a shoot-out, won by Brazil 7:6, despite the South Americans missing their first shot. Matheus Victor Medeiros scored 14 points for the Brazilians as he helped his side to a 2-1 (20:21, 22:18, SO 7:6) victory and a perfect preparation for the final later on in the evening.

That final was, perhaps, more one-sided than expected as Brazil eased to a shock 10-point first period win. They were deadly in front of goal, scoring from their first eight attacks, with the Europeans only managing to score five times in the same period. That ensured a healthy lead to pick up the first 10 minutes (24:14) and it was with that impetus that Brazil took the second period, by nearly the same score (23:14). Veteran players Nailson Amaral (Brazil) with 14 points and Ivan Juric (Croatia) with 16 were top-scorers for their respective teams.

In the afternoon session Qatar beat Germany 2-1 (18:23, 26:16, SO 9:8) in their final group game, thanks to 18 points from Nidhal Montassar Messaoud and it was the same result when they played for bronze in the evening session, 2-1 (18:20, 18:16, SO 6:0). Amir Denuir Nowraddine and Anis Zouaoui both scored 12 points each for the Asian team, who were thankful that the Europeans missed all three of their strikes in the shoot-out.

Croatia captain Juric ended up as tournament top scorer on 53 points, ahead of teammate Vigo Konforta (52), while Brazil top-scored across the four games, with 189 points (ahead of Germany in second on 178) and could boast the best defence, conceding just 150 points, well ahead of second-placed Qatar, with 164.



2024 IHF Beach Handball Global Tour – Stage 4: Finals
Final Ranking

Men's Competition
1 Brazil (BRA)
2 Croatia (CRO)
3 Qatar (QAT)
4 Germany (GER)

Women’s Competition
1 Brazil
2 Spain (ESP)
3 Germany
4 Portugal (POR)

Match Results

Thursday 7 November

Men’s Competition
QAT vs GER 2-1 (18:23, 26:16, SO 9:8)
BRA vs CRO 2-1 (20:21, 22:18, SO 7:6)

Bronze Medal Match: QAT vs GER 2-1 (18:20, 18:16, SO 6:0)

Final: BRA vs CRO 2-0 (24:14, 23:14)

Women’s Competition
BRA vs POR 2-0 (22:14, 17:14)
ESP vs GER 2-0 (8:7, 29:22)

Bronze Medal Match: GER vs POR 2-0 (25:22, 19:12)
Final: BRA vs ESP 2-0 (17:12, 21:20)

About the IHF Beach Handball Global Tour

The IHF Beach Handball Global Tour was launched at the 2022 IHF Men’s and Women’s Beach Handball World Championships in Greece and debuted in Gdansk, Poland with Croatia winning the men’s tournament and Spain taking the top spot in the women’s tournament.

The 2023 IHF Beach Handball Global Tour visited Brazil, Tunisia and Poland before the Finals Stage was held in Doha, Qatar in November, with Qatar’s men and Brazil’s women taking the overall titles.

The 2024 IHF Beach Handball Global Tour commenced in May with Stage 1 in Maricá, Brazil. The host nation won both the men’s and women’s competitions. Stage 2 took place in Cádiz, Spain, with the host nation winning the women’s tournament and the men’s tournament won by Germany. Stage 3 – the Finals stage – took place in Doha, Qatar, with Brazil winning both the men’s and women’s events.