Nigeria’s Under-20 Men’s Handball team have qualified for the 2027 IHF Under 21 Handball Championship and also secured a place in the semi-finals of the 33rd Africa Men’s Junior Handball Championship following their 28-23 victory over Guinea in their quarter-final encounter in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, on Wednesday.
The Coach David Emmanuel-tutored side produced a solid performance to secure the five-goal victory, leading Guinea 14–10 at the end of the first half before maintaining their advantage after the break despite a late surge by the resolute Guineans.
Nigeria will face Tunisia in the semi final. The North Africans defeated the Democratic Republic of Congo 36-20 in the quarter finals.
The victory also means Nigeria have qualified for the 2027 IHF Men’s Under 21 Handball World Championship, scheduled to hold in North Macedonia which will be the fourth time they qualify for the world championship. Nigeria qualified for the 1981 edition in Portugal where they finished 14th, the 1985 world championship in Italy, finishing 16th and the 2019 edition in Spain where they ended 19th.
Reacting to the victory, Coach David Emmanuel said the team was pleased to have achieved its first major objective of qualifying for the world championship but would remain focused on the next challenge which is to win the championship.
“We are happy with the victory and, most importantly, the qualification for the World Championship. The boys showed character and discipline against Guinea” Coach Emmanuel said
“Now we have to recover, study our next opponent which is Tunisia and prepare properly for the semi-final. We know it will be a difficult game, but we are ready for the challenge as we aim to win the Africa Nations Championship” Coach Emmanuel David concludes
The young Nigerians will now look to build on their impressive run as they continue their quest for a place in the final of the championship.