Flawless Egypt clinch gold in the men’s competition at the 2026 Mediterranean Games

Egypt men’s team clinched the gold at the 2026 Mediterranean Games after winning five out of five matches, to become champions for the second time, 13 years after their first performance, in 2013.

Greece secured their maiden medal, the silver, after dropping the final, 29:31, while Algeria earned their fourth medal, after beating Portugal in the bronze-medal match, 36:33.

The eight participating teams at Taranto 2026 – five from Europe and three from Africa – were divided into two groups of four teams each, with the top two sides in each group progressing to the semi-finals.

With experienced players in the squad, like right back Mohsen Ramadan, who also participated at the 2025 IHF Men’s World Championship, Egypt swept their opponents in the preliminary round in Group A, taking wins against Portugal (38:27), Kosovo (42:21) and hosts Italy (25:22).

The battle for the second place in the group was between Portugal and Italy, with both sides beating Kosovo, but Portugal dominated the mutual match, eventually clinching a 31:30 win and securing the second ticket for the semi-finals.

In Group B, the battle for the first place was between Greece and Algeria, who drew in the mutual match, 26:26, and won the other two matches. The goal difference was the decider between the two sides, with Greece taking the first place, thanks to a superior goal difference, +23, to Algeria’s +16.

Greece beat Tunisia, 37:29, and Cyprus, 39:24, while Algeria only mustered a 33:24 win against Cyprus and a 33:26 win against Tunisia.

With the non-qualified teams heading for the Placement Matches 5/8, where Tunisia ended fifth, Italy sixth, Kosovo seventh and Cyprus eighth, the four semi-finalists were still in the hunt for the trophy.

A battle between Egypt and Algeria ensued in the first semi-final, with Egypt taking a hard-fought 27:25 win, while Greece also had to work and weather the storm against a Portugal comeback, taking a 32:30 win, after leading by five goals at the break.

Greece, who secured their first medal at the Mediterranean Games in their appearances, took a two-goal lead, 11:9, after 18 minutes of the final, as Michail Stathis and Grigorios Tzimpoulas had a strong outing, combining for 14 goals between themselves.

However, Egypt had more tricks upon their sleeve and tied the score at the break, 17:17, having a better outing in the second half, when left wing Omar Hassan (nine goals) and Ramadan (eight goals) took control of the match.

Egypt took the lead and never looked back, securing a 31:29 win in the end, as goalkeeper Youssef Salama from Zamalek, also saved 10 shots, for a 37% saving efficiency, to lift his side to the second title in history.

Algeria beat Portugal, 36:33, in the bronze-medal match, to secure a place on the podium, with two African sides and one European team finishing in the top-3 of this edition of the Mediterranean Games.

Photo credit: Sara Bozzoli | FIGH