Marta Mangué, the top scorer of the Spanish women's handball team, said after the 2012 London Olympic bronze, that being a warrior was "throwing for each ball as if it were the decisive." Since 2014, while the golden generation was slowly facing withdrawal, Spain has wandered through the desert. Until this Sunday. Because despite the defeat with Holland (30-29) in the final this morning, with a controversial end of heart attack, the Spanish team has achieved an unprecedented milestone: the World silver medal. The best result in its history.
Spain already feels on its neck its first silver medal in a world championship. An unprecedented milestone for the Spanish women's handball, which was mired in uncertainty in recent years, in which the slips happened in the Rio Games, the 2016 and 2018 European and the 2017 World Cup. The Warriors leave Japan not only with that metal, but with the qualification for the Pre-Olympic next March (days 20, 21 and 22).
With an intermediate generation between the survivors of past successes (Silvia Navarro, Nerea Pena ...) and a litter of young people who already make a difference in the best European leagues (Almudena Gutiérrez, Alicia Fernández ...), the combined National has found the perfect mix. The Carlos Viver revolution, started in 2017, when he was elected coach, has had his gold pin in this championship.
And no one had Spain in the fight for medals - much less in the final. Not even the same national entourage did. "The goal is to be among the first seven and qualify for the Pre-Olympic," Silvia Navarro told this newspaper in the previous championship. But Las Guerreras appeared immaculate in the first phase, with five victories in five games, and began to climb the steps as a candidate. They knew how to survive the Main Round, despite the unexpected stumbling block with Sweden and the defeat with Russia. A victory of Montenegro at the last minute gave them the pass to the semifinals, against a Norway that was handled by the Spanish defensive spider web.
The Netherlands, a team with much more experience, had won medals in the last two championships: bronze in the 2017 World Cup and bronze in the 2018 European. His trade was decisive. Because Spain came out as a hurricane (6-2 start), making easy goals against the backlash with an inspired 'Shandy' Barbosa, but everything changed as soon as the Dutch team managed to slow down. The Warriors suffered in static and paid the errors from seven meters. At rest, Spain fell by 13 to 16.
The selection achieved the draw in the absence of a minute and a half for the outcome (29-29), thanks to a career of Marta López. The Dutch goalkeeper, Tess Wester, had rejected everything so far, becoming giant under the sticks. Everything would be decided in the last possession. 'Shandy' Barbosa failed to launch and Ainhoa Hernández made a decisive mistake, avoiding Wester's serve and invading the opponent's area. The members pointed seven meters in favor of the Netherlands in the absence of five seconds and Abbingh did not fail. The cruelest end for a Spain that regained its warrior mentality.
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