News

Tunisia edge hard-fought win in African derby to reach main round

18 Jan. 2025

Tunisia edge hard-fought win in African derby to reach main round

In the two previous editions of the IHF Men’s World Championship in 2021 and 2023, Tunisia won the President’s Cup, but now they will head to the main round, after a fantastic win a tight battle against fellow African side, Algeria, 26:25.

GROUP B
Algeria vs Tunisia 25:26 (9:13)


It was a do-or-die match for both sides, but Tunisia were in a better position, as even a draw would have been enough for them to book a main round ticket. And the team coached by Mohamed Ali Sghir were slightly better since the opening minutes, as they never allowed Algeria to pull in front. 

However, the game was tense, and 20 minutes into the match, Tunisia were in front by just one goal, 9:8. Algeria’s goalkeeper Khalifa Ghedbane made a couple of spectacular saves in the following minutes, but his team did not capitalize on them, as they turned the ball over several times in attack.

As a result, the score remained unchanged during nearly four minutes, and then it was Tunisia who took the initiative into their hands and ended the half with a strong 4:1 run. Their defense managed to hold the Algerian leaders back, which allowed Sghir’s team to increase the gap to four goal at the interval.

After the break, Algeria improved their performance a lot, and as Messaoud Berkous, Hichem Daoud and Ayyoub Abdi started to have more impact in attack, their team cut the deficit to just one goal, 15:16 in the 42nd minute. And midway through the second half, Daoud’s goal saw the Algerians draw level at 18:18.

The last quarter of an hour was very tense – spurred by Yassine Belkaied’s saves (he made 11 throughout the match), Tunisia were in front by one or two goals, but Algeria drew level time after time, including at 25:25 with nearly one minute to play. 

But while they needed a win, they failed to pull in front even once, and although Tunisia had as many as 18 turnovers in this match, Hazem Bacha’s last-second goal secured their win, 26:25, and left the Algerians devastated, as they will fight for consolation in the President’s Cup. 

Tunisia head into the main round, but will start Group I in Herning with zero points, after their losses against Denmark and Italy, but they are sure of finishing higher than their previous two appearances in the world handball flagship competition.

hummel Player of the Match: Ayyoub Abdi (Algeria)