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Review of Nigeria's handball team at top IHF competitions in Kosovo.
Nigeria's U18 handball team qualified for the final of the 2025 IHF Trophy's Intercontinental Phase following their impressive 43-24 victory over Uzbekistan on Saturday in Pristina, Kosovo.
After the blip of losing to Kosovo in their second group match, Coach Emeka Nnamani's tutored team stepped up their semi-final match against Uzbekistan and had a massive 90% efficiency right from the first half which resulted in 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 would finish on the podium for the third consecutive time.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian U23 team lost 30-23 to Bulgaria in the semi-final of the fifthh IHF Emerging Nations Championship in Varna, Bulgaria.
Host country Bulgaria favoured against Nigeria, had three wins in double digits, and a top defense that conceded only 59 goals in the first three matches of the preliminary round.
Bulgaria enjoyed a dream start to the match, mostly due to their excellent defense, 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, impossible to provide more in attack.
For Nigeria, it was an impressive finish despite being beaten. They made history as the only African team to get into the semi-final of the IHF Men’s Emerging Nations Championship.
However, Coach Emeka Nnamani's tutored side will still need to fight for the bronze medal match on Sunday.
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