Nigeria finishes second as IHF trophy's intercontinental phase ends in Kosovo

Nigeria's Under 18 Men Handball team finished second at the IHF Trophy's Intercontinental Phase following a 34-30 loss to Kosovo after overtime in the competition's final on Sunday in Pristina, Kosovo.

The team led by Coach Emeka Nnamani went into this match determined to avenge an earlier defeat against the host in the preliminary stage and prepared quite adequately thus. Still, they were limited by a resolute defense of Kosovo and despite scoring vital goals, they settled for a pulsating 13-13 in the first half.

In the Second part of the match, Nigeria went into it outscoring their host and led 26-24 less than three minutes to the end as Christian Foloki and Mustapha Mohammed combined for 13 goals leading to the lead but they couldn't hold their own as the host scored two quick as the clock was winding down to force an overtime with the help of Amar Muqolli. And after the Overtime of 10 minutes (5 minutes for each half), the host, encouraged by their fans won the match 34-30 to be crowned champion of the IHF Trophy's Intercontinental Phase.

The USA finished third with a 36:34 win in the bronze medal match against Uzbekistan.

Nigeria’s Mustapha Mohammed was the top scorer of the competition, with 43 goals, followed by two Kosovo players, Amar Muqolli (30 goals) and Granit Kadiri (29 goals).

This is the second time that Nigeria will lose in the final; the first in 2019 against Chinese Taipei. They also finished third in the 2023 edition as well. A victory would have qualified Nigeria for the IHF Mens Youth World Championship later in the year.