The Egyptian National Handball Team has been gaining successful momentum over the years; becoming the first African team to reach the semi-finals in the 2020 Olympic tournament after defeating Germany in addition to the team being crowned winner at the African Handball Championship on 18 July 2022. Egypt hosted the 27th IHF World Men’s Handball Championship in 2021 where the team lost to Denmark in a 39-38 penalty shoot-out in the quarterfinals.
This year, in the World Men’s Handball Championship group stages opener, Egypt’s team defeated Croatia 31-22 in the group on Friday, Jan 13. Next, the team also defeated Morocco 30-19 on Sunday, Jan. 15, and will play next USA today at 7 pm. This will be their last match in the group stage as they are currently ranked first in the group.
The national team is expected to face their real challenge in the main round, where they will face the teams who will advance from Group H, which include defending champions Denmark, Bahrain, Belgium and Tunisia.
But what has the National Handball Team of Egypt been up to over the years? Egypt hosted the annual African Handball Championship in 1983 and came in fourth after losing to Tunisia 29-24 in the match for third place. After that, Egypt won the African Championship twice in a row in 1991 and 1992, once at home and once at Côte d’Ivoire. The team defeated Tunisia in the 1992 final, winning 26-24, and defeated Algeria in the 1991 final 19-18.