With their third win in fourth matches at the 2026 IHF Men’s Club World Championship, 28:27 against E.C. Pinheiros, Zamalek Club secured the second place in Group A and will feature in the bronze-medal match of the competition.

GROUP A
Zamalek Club (EGY) vs E.C. Pinheiros (BRA) 28:27 (16:14)

Two of the youngest teams in the competition – Zamalek Club and E.C. Pinheiros – performed well until their mutual encounter, dropping only a single match so far, against reigning champions, FC Barcelona.

But the two sides were now in a tough, close battle, which promised to provide fireworks, as they were close to tying their best results in the history of the competition, provided they won this match.

In such encounters, the start is crucial and the first minutes were all Zamalek Club, with the Egyptian side taking advantage of their opponents’ woes in attack to create a 4:0 lead from the get go.

By the time Pinheiros scored their maiden goal, after four minutes and 51 seconds, Zamalek were well settled in the match, as centre back Ziad Hashad dictated the rhythm, with two goals and one assist.

The young Hashad, who is starting to come of age, continued to be the fulcrum of his team’s attack, but the mantle of the top scorer was quickly taken over by captain Akram Saad, the most experienced player in his team, who had eight goals throughout the match, shining on the right wing.

However, even with that slow start, Pinheiros did not back down. The Brazilian side had their own 4:1 run, to cut Zamalek’s lead to only one goal, 5:4, yet Pinheiros never reclaimed the lead or tied the score.

The gap fluctuated between two and four goals, but at the break, Zamalek were up only two goals, 16:14, with everything still to be decided in the second part. And once again, the Egyptian side looked stronger or, at least, managed to contain the pressure better.

Pinheiros’ goalkeepers could only save five shots between themselves until the 50th minute, while Zamalek’s tall backs, Youssef Ahmed and Hassan Kaddah, combined for seven goals in the match.

Still, at that point, Zamalek were up only two goals, 25:23, and a late downtrend in their performance could have ushered Pinheiros back in, especially as the Brazilian side needed a win to finish second, with a draw suiting Zamalek.

And indeed, Pinheiros came back and pressured Zamalek, with Ronald Matheus Lima De Sousa scoring in the 52nd minute the cut the gap to a single goal, 26:25. But when Zamalek looked in control, leading 28:25, Pinheiros changed their defence, were more aggressive and finally retained possesion with 15 seconds left on the clock, with the score at 28:27.

A missed fast break saw Zamalek win, though, but Pinheiros can surely be proud of their performance throughout the competition, despite this loss.

Zamalek Club will now play the bronze-medal match on Thursday, in the last day of the competition, with the Egyptian side securing their best finish since 2012, when they ended fourth.

Zamalek can finish on the podium if they win the bronze-medal match, tying their best result, the third place in 2010.

Pinheiros will either finish fifth or sixth, but their performance still looked like an uptick from what fellow Brazilian side Taubate provided in the previous two editions of the competition.

Player of the Match: Ziad Hashad (Zamalek Club)