African Championship: Golden Arrows Edge Guinea, Keep World Championship Dream Alive

African Championship: Golden Arrows Edge Guinea, Keep World Championship Dream Alive

Sampson Adedeji

Nigeria’s senior men’s handball team, the Golden Arrows, preserved their hopes of qualifying for the 2027 IHF Men’s World Championship with a tense 30–28 victory over Guinea in Thursday’s fifth-to-eighth-place semi-final at the 27th Africa Men’s Handball Championship in Kigali, Rwanda, BSNSports.com.ng reports.

The high-stakes playoff deciding Africa’s fifth representative at the World Championship in Germany tested Nigeria’s resolve, especially after Faruk Yusuf was sent off in the first half, leaving the team temporarily reduced to six men.

Despite the setback, the Golden Arrows showed grit and composure to see out the contest and book a place in the decisive fifth-place match.

Nigeria will now face Angola, who secured a 27–20 win over Morocco in the other playoff semi-final, in a winner-takes-all clash on Sunday.

Victory in that encounter would seal Nigeria’s return to the global stage for the first time since 1999, ending a 26-year absence from the IHF Men’s World Championship.