The Egyptian handball team won the African Nations Cup 2022, for the second time in a row and for the eighth time in its history, after defeating Cape Verde in the final with a 35-27 score.
The match was held at the Hassan Mostafa Hall in 6 October on the outskirts of Cairo. Thousands of fans were present to back the national team’s players.
The final wrapped up the 25th edition of the championship which was held in Egypt.
Egypt also won the bid to host the 26th edition of the tournament in 2024 as well.
The Egyptian national team has qualified for the 2023 IHF Men’s World Cup, in its capacity as Africa’s champion.
Egypt fell in Group G, which also contains the US, Morocco and Croatia.
The 2023 IHF Men’s World Cup will be organised jointly by Poland and Sweden in January next year.
The Pharaohs look forward to the competition, hoping to grab the title for the first time in their history.
In the 2021 IHF Men’s World Cup, which was held in Egypt, Denmark knocked Egypt out after penalty shootouts, in a dramatic quarter final.
Extended history
Egypt’s national handball team started participating in the World Handball Cup as of 1964 in the Czech Republic. This was the fifth edition of the tournament since its inception.
Twenty-nine years later, the Egyptian team participated in the 1993 World Cup in Sweden and made its first win against Czechoslovakia, with a 21-20 score.
The 1995 World Cup in Iceland witnessed an increase in the number of participating teams to 24, for the first time.
Egypt fell in the same group with Sweden, Spain, Belarus, Kuwait and Brazil.
The Egyptian team succeeded in defeating Brazil, Kuwait and Belarus, but was defeated by Spain and Sweden.
In the 16th round, the team defeated Romanian 31-26, but lost in the quarter-final to Croatia 16-30. Egypt ranked sixth in the competition.
Egypt participated in the 1997 World Cup and was placed in Group C with Spain, the Czech Republic, Tunisia, Brazil and Portugal.
Egypt achieved its best results in the group stage of the tournament which was held in Japan, with four victories and one draw.
Egypt defeated Cuba 24-20 in the 16th round, before being defeated by France in the quarter final 19-22. The team ranked sixth, for the second time in a row.
Egypt hosted the World Cup in 1999, becoming the first country outside Europe to host the prestigious tournament.
It fell into the same group with Germany, Cuba, Saudi Arabia, Macedonia and Brazil. Nonetheless, it qualified for the next round after winning four matches and losing one match.
The Pharaohs faced Tunisia in the 16th round and won 24-22. However, the Egyptian team could not pass the quarter-finals after losing to Russia 26-20. Egypt ranked seventh in this competition.
In the World Cup in France in 2001, the Egyptian team fell into a group that contained Sweden, Iceland, Portugal, the Czech Republic and Morocco. It made three victories and a draw, but lost in one match.
In the 16th round, the Egyptian team defeated Algeria 24-21, faced Russia in the quarter-finals, and defeated it 21-19, which qualified it for the semi-finals, for the first time.
Nevertheless, the team was defeated by France in the semi-finals with a 24-21 score.
It then was defeated by Yugoslavia, occupying the fourth position in the tournament.
Egypt’s ranking declined dramatically in the 2003 World Cup in Portugal, where it ranked 15th after failing to achieve any victory in the second round of the tournament.
Although the Egyptian team’s ranking in the World Cup in 2005 in Tunisia advanced to 14th place, it achieved negative results and bid farewell to the tournament early.
In the 2007 World Cup in Germany, the Egyptian team was placed together with Qatar, the Czech Republic and Spain in the same group.
Egypt finished the first round in third place after losing to Spain and the Czech Republic, and winning against Qatar. It ranked 17th in the tournament.
Egypt was eliminated from the World Handball Championship from the first round in 2009 in Croatia, after ranking fourth in the group that also included Denmark, Serbia, Norway, Brazil and Saudi Arabia.
In the 2011 World Cup in Sweden, Egypt fell into a strong group that contained Germany, France, Spain, Tunisia and Bahrain.
The team managed to achieve a single victory over Tunisia, and lost its other four matches.
In the 2013 World Cup in Spain, Egypt succeeded in passing the group stage, for the first time in 12 years. Its group included Croatia, Spain, Hungary, Algeria and Australia. The Egyptian team ranked fourth in the competition.
In the 2015 World Cup in Qatar, Egypt was placed in the same group with France, Sweden, Iceland, the Czech Republic and Algeria. It succeeded in qualifying for the 16th round and faced Germany which defeated it 16-23.
In the 2017 World Cup in France, the Egyptian team fell into a group that contained Sweden, Qatar, Denmark, Argentina and Bahrain.
The Egyptian team succeeded in achieving three victories over Bahrain, Argentina and Qatar, but lost twice against Denmark and Sweden.
In the 16th round, the team lost to Croatia 19-21, to finish the tournament in 13th place.
In the 2019 World Cup in Germany and Denmark, Egypt was in Group D, which also contained Sweden, Hungary, Qatar, Argentina and Angola.
The Egyptian national team eventually played the match to determine the seventh and eighth places, but lost to Spain, 31-36, to come in eighth place.
