title: 1981 Pan American Men's Handball Championship
text: # 1981 Pan American Men's Handball Championship
  
  The 1981 Pan American Men's Handball Championship was the second edition of the tournament, held in Buenos Aires, Argentina from 9 to 14 November 1981. It acted as the American qualifying tournament for the 1982 World Championship.
  
  ## Preliminary round
  
  ### Group A
  
  | Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
  | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
  | 1 | Argentina (H) | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 85 | 51 | +34 | 6 | Semifinals |
  | 2 | United States | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 121 | 46 | +75 | 4 | Semifinals |
  | 3 | Paraguay | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 58 | 101 | −43 | 2 | |
  | 4 | Chile | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 40 | 106 | −66 | 0 | |
  | 9 November 1981 | Argentina | 23–22 (ET) | United States |
  | 9 November 1981 | Paraguay | 29–17 | Chile |
  | 10 November 1981 | Argentina | 36–14 | Paraguay |
  | 10 November 1981 | United States | 51–8 | Chile |
  | 11 November 1981 | Argentina | 26–15 | Chile |
  | 11 November 1981 | United States | 48–15 | Paraguay |
  
  ### Group B
  
  | Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
  | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
  | 1 | Cuba | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 68 | 45 | +23 | 4 | Semifinals |
  | 2 | Brazil | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 51 | 49 | +2 | 2 | Semifinals |
  | 3 | Mexico | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 40 | 65 | −25 | 0 | |
  | 9 November 1981 | Brazil | 29–17 | Mexico |
  | 9 November 1981 | | (14–6) | |
  | 10 November 1981 | Cuba | 36–23 | Mexico |
  | 11 November 1981 | Cuba | 32–22 | Brazil |
  | 11 November 1981 | | (15–12) | |
  
  ## Knockout stage
  
  ### Bracket
  
  | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Final | Final |
  | - | - | - | - |
  | 13 November | 13 November |
  | Argentina | 30 |
  | Argentina | 30 | 14 November | 14 November |
  | Brazil (ET) | 35 | 14 November | 14 November |
  | Brazil (ET) | 35 | Brazil | 20 |
  | 13 November | 13 November | | Brazil | 20 |
  | 13 November | 13 November | Cuba | 34 |
  | Cuba | 35 | Cuba | 34 |
  | United States | 29 | | |
  | United States | 29 | Third place | Third place |
  | | | 14 November | 14 November |
  | | | Argentina | 22 |
  | | | United States | 25 |
  
  Fifth place bracket
  
  | 5–7th place semifinals | 5–7th place semifinals | Fifth place game | Fifth place game |
  | - | - | - | - |
  | 13 November | 13 November |
  | Mexico | 35 |
  | Mexico | 35 | 14 November | 14 November |
  | Chile | 12 | 14 November | 14 November |
  | Chile | 12 | Mexico | 36 |
  | | | Paraguay | 21 |
  
  ### 5–7th place semifinal
  
  | 13 November 1981 | Mexico | 31–12 | Chile |
  | - | - | - | - |
  
  ### Semifinals
  
  | 13 November 1981 | Brazil | 35–30 (ET) | Argentina |
  | - | - | - | - |
  | 13 November 1981 | Cuba | 35–29 | United States |
  
  ### Fifth place game
  
  | 14 November 1981 | Mexico | 36–21 | Paraguay |
  | - | - | - | - |
  
  ### Third place game
  
  | 14 November 1981 | United States | 25–22 | Argentina |
  | - | - | - | - |
  
  ### Final
  
  | 14 November 1981 | Cuba | 34–20 | Brazil |
  | - | - | - | - |
  
  ## Final ranking
  
  * Qualified for the 1982 World Championship
  
  | Rank | Team |
  | - | - |
  | | Cuba |
  | | Brazil |
  | | United States |
  | 4 | Argentina |
  | 5 | Mexico |
  | 6 | Paraguay |
  | 7 | Chile |
  