City of October 6 (Egypt) (AFP)
Egypt qualified for the quarter-finals of the Handball World Cup at the expense of Slovenia, deprived of several sick players and eliminated after the draw between the two nations (25-25) on Sunday in Cairo.
The Slovenes, deprived at the last moment of Dragan Gajic, Stas Skube, Blaz Blagotinsek, sick, had taken a good lead (15-10) before seeing Egypt return in the second act.
Helped by their goalkeeper Klemen Ferlin on fire (18 saves at 49%), they hung on to the end, scoring two goals behind in the last minute, including a last-second equalizer by Barcelona's Blaz Janc.
Insufficient, after a defeat against Russia in the first round (31-25) and a previous draw torn against Sweden (28-28) on Friday, to move ahead of Egypt in the standings.
The latter will be accompanied by Sweden or Russia who compete in the evening.
The winner will be qualified, or Sweden in the event of a draw.
This qualification confirms the return to the foreground of Egypt, 8th in the 2019 World Cup, which did not include quarter-finals.
At the turn of the millennium, the Pharaohs had reached the quarterfinal stage in 4 successive Worlds, even reaching the final square in 2001 against France, host country and future winner.
© 2021 AFP