Efficient Display Secures Tournament Win: Spain Narrowly Edge France 31-30 (17-14)

A thrilling clash on the third day crowns the Iberians as Airport Trophy champions. France challenge the favorites until the very last second but are ultimately not rewarded with an equalizer despite their great effort.

The starting situation before the fifth tournament match was clear: a win or a draw would guarantee Spain the tournament victory; a defeat would have triggered complex calculations. Accordingly, both teams started the game with high engagement and pace. In a high-scoring opening phase, the score was already 4-5 from the French perspective after just eight minutes. Spain consistently tried to find success via the "fast restart" after conceding goals. France, however, remained unfazed, defended the attacks strongly, and caught the Spaniards in transition multiple times.

Spanish Efficiency and Strong Individual Actions

A disruption in the French game followed in the 14th minute after a two-minute suspension. Spain ruthlessly capitalized on two consecutive technical errors by the French and pulled ahead to 10-6, forcing France into an early timeout. During this phase, Quim Rocas Perez (number 9) stood out in particular: the Spanish playmaker, who had mostly shone as a provider earlier in the tournament, took responsibility himself and posed a major goal-scoring threat.

In addition, Spanish winger Daniel Reinante Santonja (number 20) delighted the spectators with excellent technique and spectacular trick shots, against which the French goalkeeper Timothé Riss was initially powerless. At 8-13 in the 19th minute, the French bench reacted to the weak goaltending performances up to that point and brought Wilson Schultz (number 16) into the goal. The change worked: the game calmed down a bit, France stabilized, and closed the gap. Despite a missed shot at the vacant Spanish net, they went into the locker room with the game completely open at 14-17.

Red Card Shakes the Favorites Again

The second half also remained highly contested. Reinante Santonja opened for Spain with another impressive penalty shot, but France refused to be shaken off and pulled back to within one goal at 17-18. Although Spain restored their three-goal cushion ten minutes after the restart, France fought back with all their might. Goalkeeper Schultz first saved brilliantly against a Spanish Kempa trick and shortly afterward stopped a counter-attack following a simple turnover by his outfield players.

An unfortunate incident occurred in the 48th minute: Oriol San Felipe Vilarrasa (number 3) received a straight red card after a hard challenge. Suddenly playing short-handed, Spain came under massive pressure both defensively and offensively. France capitalized on the uncertainty, pulled within one goal again at 25-26, and forced Spain into a timeout in the 52nd minute. The nervousness among the Iberians rose, and Reinante Santonja subsequently missed from the penalty spot for the first time after four previously successful attempts.

Dramatic Final Seconds in the Title Fight

France launched a final offensive but failed to fully exploit the psychological advantage in the decisive moments. Spain managed to see the game out thanks to goals from Sergio Sanchez Vidan, always maintaining a narrow lead.

With 75 seconds remaining and the score at 30-31, Spain took their last timeout. Although the Spaniards failed to score in the remaining seconds, they ran down the clock so routinely that France lacked the time for a structured equalizing attempt after their final possession. Spain held onto their razor-thin 31-30 victory until the final buzzer.

Conclusion: Composed Spaniards Claim the Trophy

In the end, Spain secured a deserved but by no means dominant victory. France showed a character-strong performance and would have also deserved a point given their tireless effort. The Spaniards presented themselves as extremely composed throughout the entire tournament – they did exactly what was necessary in the decisive moments to win close matches, ultimately securing an undefeated tournament victory.

Quim Rocas Perez was rightly named the best player for Spain, alongside the clinical Thomas Omeyer for France.