Egypt win nail-biting battle of continental champions

The second match for Group B at the 2019 IHF Men’s Junior World Championship saw a two-goal victory for Egypt in the battle of the African and Asian champions. With the win over Republic of Korea on Saturday, Egypt kept their perfect record alive and moved their tally to the maximum eight points. Korea stayed on two points, after one win, versus Nigeria, in round three. 

GROUP B
Egypt vs Republic of Korea 38:36 (19:18)

It was a high-quality, fast-paced game between the Asian and African champions, in which the advantage created in the opening minutes proved a decisive factor. Egypt opened with a 3:0 run that left Republic of Korea chasing to close the gap, but the Asian side were never able to level the game. However, they did come within one goal more than once in the first half – and then again in the last 60 seconds, for an exciting end to the match. 

Korea were a constant threat and Egypt had to use their full power to stay in control on the score board. As a result, Egypt’s line-up did not change much during the match, highlighting the fact that there is a clear difference between their first and second sides. 

Egypt’s defence was important in their victory, as Korea had trouble against the taller 6-0 against them and many of their outside shots were blocked. After Egypt started with Abdelrahman Mohamed Homayed in goal for the first half, they switched to Abdelrhman Taha Ali in the second. Both keepers saved a penalty each, and Ali was particularly important with some critical saves in the final stages. 

In attack, Egypt shared the responsibility, though Hassan Walid Kaddah and Hazem Mamdouh Mohamed were the most dangerous scorers, with nine and eight goals, respectively. He only scored two goals, but Shehab Abdalla Ahmed was responsible for the match winner with in the 60th, before which nothing was decided. 

Korea relied heavily on their top scorer, Jaeseop Shin, who contributed 11 of their goals. 

Player of the match: Hassan Walid Kaddah, Egypt