Egypt underlined their dominance in African handball on Tuesday night with a commanding 48–22 victory over Nigeria at the BK Arena in Kigali, completing a flawless run through the main round of the 2025 African Men’s Handball Championship.
The emphatic win ended Nigeria’s hopes of reaching the semi-finals and extinguished their chances of securing automatic qualification for the 2027 IHF World Championship.
From the opening whistle, the defending champions were in complete control. Egypt raced into a 24–10 lead by half-time, dictating the pace with sharp execution and relentless pressure, before mirroring that scoreline in the second half to seal a comprehensive triumph.
Nigeria came into the contest needing a positive result to finish among the top two in Main Round Group I, but they were quickly outclassed by Egypt’s speed, fluid movement and clinical finishing.
The numbers highlighted the gap between both sides. Egypt recorded an impressive shooting efficiency of 76 per cent, far superior to Nigeria’s 43 per cent. Their long-range shooting was particularly effective, converting 70 per cent of nine-metre attempts compared to Nigeria’s 27 per cent.
Egypt were equally ruthless on the fast break, scoring 10 times from such situations at a 91 per cent success rate, while Nigeria managed just one fast-break goal. Close-range chances were also exploited, with Egypt netting 20 goals from near positions and 14 from the wings.
Overall, Egypt scored 48 goals from 63 attempts, while Nigeria finished with 22 from 51 shots.
The result secured Egypt a perfect record in Group I, as they concluded the main round with three wins from three matches, scoring 131 goals and conceding 78 for a commanding goal difference of +53 and a total of six points.
Nigeria, Algeria and Angola all finished on two points, but Nigeria’s goal difference of −27 placed them third in the group, behind Algeria.
The defeat marked a disappointing end to Nigeria’s push for the semi-finals, having already been setback by an earlier loss to Angola. They now move into the fifth-to-eighth place classification matches, starting with another elimination game on Thursday.
Despite the heavy loss, Nigeria’s campaign is not over. The placement matches remain crucial, with the winner set to claim Africa’s final qualification spot for the 2027 IHF World Championship, keeping Nigeria’s hopes of a global appearance alive.