Abuja (Nigeria): Nigeria‘s Women’s Under-18 Handball team narrowly defeated host Algeria 29-28 to finish in the fifth position at the ongoing 2025 Africa Women’s Youth Handball Championship in Oran, Algeria.
In the match played on Sunday, the Nigerian team dramatically ended their campaign.
Despite missing out on a semi-final spot, Nigerian girls demonstrated grit and determination, snatching victory in the final seconds of the classification match to finish fifth.
Nigeria led 13-11 at halftime but were made to work hard in the second half as the Algerians, buoyed by their passionate home fans, mounted a strong fightback.
The match was delicately poised at 28-28 heading into the final seconds, with the atmosphere inside the arena electric.
In a moment of brilliance, Nigerian goalkeeper Aisha Jamilu produced a daring save to deny Algeria what could have been the winning goal.
Ngozi Korie held her nerve to fire home just as the final whistle was about to be blown, sparking jubilant celebrations from the Nigerian bench.
However, they narrowly missed out on qualification for both the IHF Women’s Under-18 World Championship and the IHF Women’s Intercontinental Trophy.
The 2025 African Women’s Youth Handball Championship, which began on September 14, ended on September 21.
The tournament also doubles as a qualifier for the 2026 Women’s Youth World Handball Championship.