Dominating the bronze-medal match from start to finish, SC Magdeburg secured a 32:23 win against Al-Ahly, to enable the German side to end on the podium of the IHF Men’s Club World Championship for the fifth time in a row and for the sixth time in history.

BRONZE-MEDAL MATCH
SC Magdeburg (GER) vs Al-Ahly (EGY) 32:23 (19:11)

Magdeburg were sure lamenting their loss against Veszprem in the semi-finals, after they missed the fifth consecutive final of the IHF Men’s Club World Championship, but the Germany side had still one job to complete in the bronze medal match of this edition of the competition.

Standing behind them and the third place was Al-Ahly, the Egyptian powerhouse which had previously finished on the podium last year, when they beat Barcelona in the bronze-medal match, but this time around the situation was going to be different.

And it was different, despite Magdeburg rotating their players more and resting some of their starters. But the ones who did not feature prominently, such as left back Philipp Weber, really put on a show in the first half against Al-Ahly, constantly frustrating the Egyptian side to take a 19:11 lead.

Weber had six goals in the first 30 minutes from seven shots, with an excellent and efficient display, but the defence really took the cream of the crop, forcing seven turnovers from Al-Ahly and forcing the Egyptian side to shoot from difficult situations, as the home team missed eight shots.

Magdeburg took control of the match early and apart from right back Omar Ingi Magnusson, who had only one goal from four shots, they missed only two other shots, for an outstanding 80% shooting efficiency. 

And that helped building a healthy lead, starting with a 6:0 unanswered run between the sixth and the 14th minute, when Al-Ahly missed shot after shot and Magdeburg answered through Weber and line player Magnus Saugstrup, with the Danish star scoring three consecutive goals.

That prompted a 10:3 lead and was the building block of this Magdeburg win, with the German side carefully managing the lead, while Al-Ahly made too many mistakes to stay in the game or even try to attempt a comeback, with the Machineseeker EHF Champions League winners firmly in control of the match.

The gap grew even bigger, as Al-Ahly had nothing in the tank especially in attack in the second half. They only scored eight times in the first 21 minutes of the second part of the match, with their shooting efficiency hovering at around 50%. But Magdeburg kept on pouncing.

Saugstrup continued to score at ease, with the German side paying more and more attention to the line player combinations, while Gisli Kristjansson, who was leading the attack in the first attack left way for Felix Claar, who scored twice.

Magnusson also saw an uptick in his form, and the largest registered gap in the first 50 minutes was 11 goals, 30:19, with Magdeburg eventually securing a 32:23 win against Al-Ahly, reflecting the gap between these two sides this afternoon.

Magdeburg finished on the podium for the fifth time in a row and for the sixth time in history, securing a place between the top three teams at the IHF Men’s Club World Championship in each appearance. However, they had never missed the top-2, and will seek what went wrong, from their 35:25 win with Sharjah SC, where their players missed too much, until the semi-final loss against Veszprem.

Al-Ahly have finished fourth in their fourth consecutive appearance in the competition, after ending up fourth in 2022, fifth in 2023 and third in 2024.

Player of the Match: Magnus Saugstrup (SC Magdeburg)