MADRID, 7 Abr. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Spanish women’s handball team will play this Saturday (6:00 p.m./Teledeporte) the first leg of the ‘play-off’ against Austria for a ticket to the 2023 World Championship, with good precedents against its rival but with no margin for error to be in the november appointment.
José Ignacio Prades’ men are facing a double-game final to which they were condemned after their ninth place in the European Championship last year. The toll for Spain should not be an impediment to being among the 32 best of the event that at the end of 2023 will host Norway, Denmark and Sweden.
With everything, and knowing that the return at the Fernando Argüelles Pavilion in the Malaga town of Antequera will be the one that will have the last word on the 12th, the ‘Guerreras’ aspire to a perfect match. From the list of the coach from Alicante, the returns of Marta López, a player with 132 international caps, and Eli Cesáreo, with 54, stand out, as well as the winger from Caja Rural Aula Valladolid Amaia González de Garibay (43) and the winger from Rocasa Gran Canaria Seynabou Mbengue (10).
On the other hand, the young winger Ester Somaza (KH-7 Granollers) remains, who was already in the squad for the last Batalha International Tournament. The friendly appointment in Portugal, at the beginning of March, was the last preparation for this ‘playoff’, where those from Prades beat Italy and Cape Verde but lost to the host.
The ‘Guerreras’ have been concentrating since last Monday and, after three days of training at the Higher Sports Council in Madrid, they traveled to Vienna, where they will play this first match in search of the World Cup at the BSFZ Südstadt. Historically, there have been 14 matches played between the two teams, with a record for Spain of nine wins and five losses.
The ‘Guerreras’ have chained these nine victories consecutively since 2003. “Maybe it is not a team that occupies privileged positions in the last Championships, but it is on the rise and booming in recent years. It has a team youngster with a lot of quality that makes up a very good group”, said Prades in statements provided by the Royal Spanish Handball Federation (RFEBM).
“They have been working together for many years with the coach and that makes them practically play by heart. This first game is key to the outcome of the tie. We want to get a good result and have the best possible sensations on the court. We are clear that it will not It should be a simple match. In a tie they can compete against anyone and we have to fight for each ball as if it were the last”, he added.
–LIST OF CALLED.
Goalkeeper: Mercedes Castellanos (Costa del Sol Málaga) and Nicole Wiggins (KH-7 Granollers).
Centrals: Esther Arrojeria (Super Amara Bera Bera), Carmen Campos (JDA Dijon), Alicia Fernández (Rapid Bucuresti) and Silvia Arderius (Costa del Sol Málaga).
Full-backs: Paula Arcos (Super Amara Bera Bera), Shandy Barbosa (CBM Morvedre), Ester Somaza (KH-7 Granollers) and Seynabou Mbengue (Rocasa Gran Canaria).
Wingers: Jennifer Gutiérrez (Rapid Bucuresti), Amaia González de Garibay (Caja Rural Aula Valladolid), Maitane Etxeberria (Super Amara Bera Bera) and Marta López (Rapid Bucuresti).
Pivots: Lysa Tchaptchet (Vipers Kristianstad), Kaba Gassama (Bietigheim), Eli Cesáreo and Sara Valero (JDA Dijon).