Nigeria’s Senior men handball team, the Golden Arrows, kept their 2027 IHF Men’s World Championship dream alive with a nervy 30–28 victory over Guinea in Thursday’s fifth-to-eighth-place semi-final at the 27th Africa Men’s Handball Championship in Kigali, Rwanda.
The playoff encounter, which determines Africa’s fifth representative at next year’s World Championship in Germany, saw the Golden Arrows demonstrate remarkable resilience after being reduced to six men in the first half following Faruk Yusuf’s red card dismissal.
Playing a man down for the bulk of the contest, Nigeria still managed to establish a 16–14 advantage at half-time and held their nerve after the restart to repel Guinea’s spirited comeback attempts.
Azeez Sulaiman emerged as the hero with eight goals that earned him the Most Valuable Player award, while John Shagari matched his tally to lead Nigeria’s offensive charge.
The victory sets up a winner-takes-all fifth-place decider against Angola, who defeated Morocco 27–20 in the other playoff semi-final.
A win in Sunday’s showdown would mark Nigeria’s return to the global stage for the first time since their last World Championship appearance in 1999—a 26-year absence that has haunted Nigerian handball.
The Golden Arrows entered the placement round after failing to reach the continental semi-finals, which offered automatic qualification to the top four teams.
Nigeria’s main round campaign had faltered following consecutive defeats—a 27–24 loss to Angola and a comprehensive 48–22 thrashing by defending champions Egypt that ended their semi-final hopes.
Despite the earlier setbacks, team captain Sessugh rallied his troops with defiant words after the Egypt defeat.
“We gave our best, but Egypt is a strong team, and we knew it would be a tough game. However, we are still alive in this competition and have another opportunity to make history,” he stated.
With momentum building and key players like Sulaiman, Shagari, Hakeem Salami and goalkeeper Micheal Solomon hitting form at the right time, the Golden Arrows will approach Sunday’s decisive clash knowing that victory would represent one of the most significant achievements in Nigerian handball history.
