Quarterfinals, Sao Paulo, Brazil:
Spain – Brazil 27:26 (19:17)
After winning all of their games so far in the tournament, Brazil´s success story has been stopped, as Spain defeated the hosts and made it to the semi-final, where they will face Norway.
The two teams have scored a great amount of goals in the first half as the two defenses were not working well. Spain started much better with leading 4:0 forcing Brazilian coach Morten Soubak to an early time out. The Iberian dominance continued, as Spain led by 6:1, but then Brazil woke up and did a 6:1 series leveling the match, so everything started from scratch. In this early phase Deonise Cavaleiro has scored six goals advancing to the main pillar of the Brazilians for he level match.
Despite the hosts´ catch-up phase, Spain remained the dominant team in the first half and led by two goals after 30 minutes.
The second half developed different to the first, as the two teams scored only a few goals, and those after great fights on the court.
6500 spectators saw a fantastic match, where both sides tried to give their best. Despite loud cheering spectators, Spain remained calm and was able to maintain its lead to the final whistle.
The Spaniards play against Olympic Champions Norway in the semi-final, whilst Brazil will continue to play for places 5 to 8.
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