Nigeria Defeat Uzbekistan To Qualify For Handball Intercontinental Final
The Nigeria Under-18 Men Handball team defeated Uzbekistan 43-24 to qualify for the final of the 2025 IHF Trophy’s Intercontinental Phase.
The team recovered brilliantly from the defeat to Kosovo in their last match with a dominant performance in the semi-final clash, earning a 24-13 victory in that half.
The second half was the same script despite a surge from Uzbekistan but Nigeria capitalized on fast breaks and from the wings to outscore their opponents to win 43-29.
This is the second time they will be playing in the final of the competition since the 2019 edition when they lost to Chinese Taipei and they finished on the podium for the third consecutive time.
For Nigeria’s Under 23 Handball team, it was very different as they lost 30-23 to Bulgaria in the semi final of the 5th IHF Emerging Nations Championship in Varna, Bulgaria.
The Host Country Bulgaria were favoured against Nigeria as they had three wins in double digits and a top defence, which conceded only 59 goals in the first three matches of the preliminary round added with the fact that they have the advantage of the fans support.
Bulgaria enjoyed a dream start of the match, mostly due to their excellent defence, which stood tall throughout the first 16 minutes and constantly frustrated Nigeria.
With goalkeeper Nikolay Petrov boasting six saves and a 60% saving efficiency in the first part of the match as well as the impact of Kristian Vasilev and top goal scorer Svetlin Dimitrov, the hosts were truly at home.
Nigeria’s top player Faruk Yusuf had only two goals from five shots and three turnovers, with the African side stopping at a 31% shooting efficiency, unable to provide more in attack.
For Nigeria, it is an impressive finish despite being beaten as they made history as the only African team qualify for the semi final of the IHF Men’s Emerging Nations Championship.
Nigeria Defeat Uzbekistan To Qualify For Handball Intercontinental Final is first published on The Whistler Newspaper
