For the past eight years, Talant Dujshebaev has been the heart and soul of Łomża Industria Kielce, the Polish powerhouse that made the EHF FINAL4 five times, winning the title once and finishing second once, in the previous season, after conceding a penalty shoot-out loss against Barça. 

It was a heartbreaking loss for Kielce, who displayed one of their best-ever seasons in the European premium competition, but costly misses during the shoot-out tilted the balance into Barça’s way. 

A powerhouse in Egyptian handball, Al Ahly were the African team that was closest to win the IHF Men’s Super Globe. In 2007, when the competition was held in Cairo, Al Ahly finished second behind Spanish giants Ciudad Real, after conceding a last-gasp 29:28 loss.

Al Ahly qualified only once for the Super Globe since that moment, in 2015, when they finished fifth, but they are now back and eyeing a top performance after a seven-year hiatus.