Nigeria Seal World Championship Return After Guinea Victory
Nigeria’s junior handball team have booked a place at the 2027 IHF Men’s Under-21 World Championship after defeating Guinea 28-23 in their quarter-final at the 33rd Africa Men’s Junior Handball Championship in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, on Wednesday.
Coach David Emmanuel’s side led 14-10 at half-time and held their nerve as Guinea mounted a late challenge, securing a five-goal victory and a place in the semi-finals.
The result also guarantees Nigeria a fourth appearance at the world championship, following previous outings in Portugal in 1981, Italy in 1985 and Spain in 2019.
The 2027 tournament will be staged in North Macedonia.
Nigeria now face Tunisia in the semi-final after the North Africans swept aside DR Congo 36-20.
“We are happy with the victory and, most importantly, the qualification for the World Championship,” Emmanuel said. “Now we have to recover, study Tunisia and prepare properly for the semi-final.”
With their first major target achieved, the Nigerians will now chase a bigger prize, the African title.
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