Nigeria defeat hosts, place fifth at Africa Women’s Youth Handball Championship

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Nigeria’s female U18 handball team wrapped up their campaign at the 2025 Africa Women’s Youth Handball Championship in Oran, Algeria, on a high, edging the hosts in a pulsating classification match on Sunday.

Coach John Uzor’s side, already out of the semi-final race, showed remarkable resilience to claim a 29-28 victory in the dying seconds and finish fifth overall.

Nigeria went into halftime with a narrow 13–11 lead but faced intense pressure after the break as Algeria, spurred on by a vocal home crowd, clawed their way back into contention. With the score locked at 28–28 and the clock ticking down, the atmosphere inside the arena reached fever pitch.

Goalkeeper Aisha Jamilu produced a crucial save to deny Algeria a potential winner. From the resulting fast break, Ngozi Korie kept her composure and slotted home just as the buzzer sounded, igniting jubilant celebrations among the Nigerian bench.

Though the win secured a respectable fifth-place finish, Nigeria narrowly missed out on qualification for both the IHF Women’s U-18 World Championship and the IHF Women’s Intercontinental Trophy.
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