Los Pumas 7s beat Fiji to take third place at the Valladolid Sevens | OneFootball

Los Pumas 7s made it onto the podium in Valladolid after defeating Fiji 28-17 in the third-place match. Following their semifinal loss to South Africa, the Albiceleste side responded in time and finished the second stage of the SVNS World Championship decider with a bronze medal.

The result allowed the team coached by Santiago Gómez Cora to remain mathematically in contention for the top spot in the 2025/26 season. With this performance, the national side has 34 points and remains in second place in the overall standings ahead of the final stop, which will take place next weekend in Bordeaux.

The defeat to the Springbok Sevens had halted their dream of reaching another final. In a rematch of the title decider played weeks earlier in Hong Kong, the African side prevailed again and secured a place in the championship match of the Spanish tournament.

The semifinal ended 14-7 in favor of the South Africans. Argentina had gone into halftime leading 7-5 thanks to a try by Santiago Vera Feld and the ensuing conversion, but in the second half their opponents were more clinical and turned the game around.

Ricardo Duarttee was one of the standout players of the match with nine points, the result of a try and two conversions. His contribution proved decisive in helping the season leaders maintain their dominance and advance to the tournament final.

Before reaching the decisive stages, Los Pumas 7s had put together an outstanding performance in the opening phase. The team won all three of its group matches, beating Germany 26-17, Uruguay 40-14, and New Zealand by a commanding 24-0.

They also showed character in the quarterfinals to move on. The runners-up from the Hong Kong leg edged France 21-19 to book their place among the top four teams in the tournament.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.