You win by sets, not by goals: two sets of ten minutes. If a set is level at the end, the next goal settles it immediately — the golden goal.
Anyone arriving from the indoor game watches the wrong number in the sand. Beach handball is not decided on total goals but on sets: two sets of ten minutes with a five-minute break between them. Lose the first one 3-8 and you start the second level again — and that is the psychological core of the format: a deficit is never a mountain, only one lost set. If a set finishes level it goes straight to golden goal and the next score wins it. If the match stands at one set each, a decider follows and, if needed, the shootout: five players per team one-on-one against the goalkeeper. The classic mistake is playing for risk in exactly those moments — a botched spin shot can cost a whole set that an ordinary field throw would have won.