2025 IHF Emerging Nations Championship

2025 IHF Emerging Nations Championship
Tournament details
Host country Bulgaria
Venue(s)1 (in 1 host city)
Dates11–16 March
Teams8 (from 4 confederations)
Final positions
Champions Great Britain (1st title)
Runners-up Bulgaria
Third place United States
Fourth place Nigeria
Tournament statistics
Matches played20
Goals scored1,128 (56.4 per match)
Attendance3,590 (180 per match)
Top scorer(s)Bulgaria Svetlin Dimitrov
(51 goals)
Awards
Best playerBulgaria Svetlin Dimitrov

The 2025 IHF Emerging Nations Handball Championship was the fifth edition of the IHF Emerging Nations Championship held in Bulgaria under the aegis of International Handball Federation from 11 to 16 March 2025.[1]

Great Britain defeated Bulgaria in the final to capture their first title.[2]

Participating teams

Country Previous appearances
 Azerbaijan 3 (2017, 2019, 2023)
 Bulgaria 4 (2015, 2017, 2019, 2023)
 Cyprus 2 (2017, 2023)
 Great Britain 4 (2015, 2017, 2019, 2023)
 Moldova 3 (2015, 2017, 2023)
 Nigeria 2 (2019, 2023)
 Paraguay 0 (debut)
 United States 1 (2019)
1 Bold indicates champion for that year. Italics indicates host.

Draw

The draw was held on 28 January 2025 in Oslo.[1][3]

Seeding

Pot 1 Pot 2 Pot 3 Pot 4
 United States
 Cyprus 		 Bulgaria
 Azerbaijan 		 Nigeria
 Great Britain 		 Moldova
 Paraguay

Preliminary round

All times are local (UTC+2).[4]

Group A

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Bulgaria (H) 3 3 0 0 104 59 +45 6 Semifinals
2  Great Britain 3 2 0 1 92 85 +7 4
3  Paraguay 3 1 0 2 75 91 −16 2 5–8th place semifinals
4  Cyprus 3 0 0 3 65 101 −36 0
Source: IHF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) goal difference.
(H) Hosts
11 March 2025
18:30 		Bulgaria  35–18  Paraguay Palace of Culture and Sports, Varna
Attendance: 350
Referees: Balvan, El-Saied, Cournil
Sv. Dimitrov 12 (19–10) Ríos, Viana 4
 3×number 2 in light blue rounded square Report  3×number 2 in light blue rounded square
11 March 2025
20:45 		Cyprus  23–37  Great Britain Palace of Culture and Sports, Varna
Attendance: 80
Referees: Lončar, Pagh, Ismoilov
Karkalatos, Paraskeva 6 (15–20) Pereira, S. Vellenoweth 7
1×Yellow card 4×number 2 in light blue rounded square Report  2×number 2 in light blue rounded square
12 March 2025
18:00 		Bulgaria  35–22  Great Britain Palace of Culture and Sports, Varna
Attendance: 400
Referees: Lončar, Thygesen, Fabryczny
Sv. Dimitrov 16 (21–13) Pereira 5
1×Yellow card 4×number 2 in light blue rounded square Report  4×number 2 in light blue rounded square
12 March 2025
20:15 		Paraguay  30–23  Cyprus Palace of Culture and Sports, Varna
Attendance: 20
Referees: Lončar, Pagh, Ismoilov
Rojas 8 (14–12) Tartios 6
 3×number 2 in light blue rounded square 1×Red card Report  4×number 2 in light blue rounded square 1×Red card
13 March 2025
18:00 		Cyprus  19–34  Bulgaria Palace of Culture and Sports, Varna
Attendance: 400
Referees: Prastalo, Rawicki, Ismoilov
Melissas, Tartios 5 (10–18) Sv. Dimitrov 10
 2×number 2 in light blue rounded square 1×Red card Report  3×number 2 in light blue rounded square
13 March 2025
20:15 		Great Britain  33–27  Paraguay Palace of Culture and Sports, Varna
Attendance: 50
Referees: El-Saied, Lamour, Fabryczny
Pereira 11 (17–14) Martínez 8
1×Yellow card 2×number 2 in light blue rounded square Report  3×number 2 in light blue rounded square

Group B

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  United States 3 2 1 0 118 79 +39 5[a] Semifinals
2  Nigeria 3 2 1 0 85 70 +15 5[a]
3  Moldova 3 1 0 2 81 88 −7 2 5–8th place semifinals
4  Azerbaijan 3 0 0 3 60 107 −47 0
Source: IHF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) goal difference.
Notes:
  1. ^ a b United States 31–31 Nigeria
11 March 2025
13:30 		Azerbaijan  21–33  Moldova Palace of Culture and Sports, Varna
Attendance: 100
Referees: Doychinov, Fabryczny, Ismoilov
Musayev 6 (8–14) Ledeniov 7
 3×number 2 in light blue rounded square Report  2×number 2 in light blue rounded square
11 March 2025
15:45 		United States  31–31  Nigeria Palace of Culture and Sports, Varna
Attendance: 50
Referees: Goretsov, Lončar, Thygesen
Amitovic 10 (18–12) Shagari 7
1×Yellow card 4×number 2 in light blue rounded square Report  5×number 2 in light blue rounded square
12 March 2025
13:30 		Moldova  26–42  United States Palace of Culture and Sports, Varna
Attendance: 100
Referees: Cournil, Balvan, Rawicki
Zacaciurin 8 (14–18) Donlin 8
1×Yellow card 3×number 2 in light blue rounded square Report  5×number 2 in light blue rounded square
12 March 2025
15:45 		Azerbaijan  17–29  Nigeria Palace of Culture and Sports, Varna
Attendance: 50
Referees: Prastalo, El-Saied, Lamour
Guliyev 6 (8–9) Shagari 7
 3×number 2 in light blue rounded square Report  3×number 2 in light blue rounded square
13 March 2025
13:30 		Nigeria  25–22  Moldova Palace of Culture and Sports, Varna
Attendance: 60
Referees: Goretsov, Lončar, Thygesen
Yusuf 8 (14–12) Baltean 5
 5×number 2 in light blue rounded square 1×Red card Report  2×number 2 in light blue rounded square
13 March 2025
15:45 		United States  45–25  Azerbaijan Palace of Culture and Sports, Varna
Attendance: 40
Referees: Balvan, Doychinov, El-Saied
Binderis 7 (19–11) Mammadli, Mehdiyev 5
1×Yellow card 1×number 2 in light blue rounded square Report 2×Yellow card 9×number 2 in light blue rounded square 1×Red card

Knockout stage

Bracket

 
Semi-finalsFinal
 
      
 
15 March
 
 
 Bulgaria30
 
16 March
 
 Nigeria23
 
 Bulgaria25
 
15 March
 
 Great Britain29
 
 United States25
 
 
 Great Britain29
 
Third place
 
 
16 March
 
 
 Nigeria28
 
 
 United States31
Fifth place bracket
 
5–8th place semifinalsFifth place game
 
      
 
15 March
 
 
 Paraguay34
 
16 March
 
 Azerbaijan22
 
 Paraguay37
 
15 March
 
 Cyprus28
 
 Moldova23
 
 
 Cyprus24
 
Seventh place game
 
 
16 March
 
 
 Azerbaijan28
 
 
 Moldova29

5–8th place semifinals

15 March 2025
13:00 		Paraguay  34–22  Azerbaijan Palace of Culture and Sports, Varna
Attendance: 50
Referees: Goretsov, El-Saied, Cournil
Rojas 8 (14–8) Nazaraliyev 6
 1×number 2 in light blue rounded square Report  4×number 2 in light blue rounded square
15 March 2025
15:15 		Moldova  23–24  Cyprus Palace of Culture and Sports, Varna
Attendance: 80
Referees: Doychinov, Lamour, Ismoilov
Caraman 8 (11–11) Karkalatos 7
 4×number 2 in light blue rounded square 1×Red card Report  2×number 2 in light blue rounded square

Semifinals

15 March 2025
17:30 		Bulgaria  30–23  Nigeria Palace of Culture and Sports, Varna
Attendance: 550
Referees: Lončar, El-Saied, Rawicki
Sv. Dimitrov 13 (15–8) Yusuf 8
 5×number 2 in light blue rounded square Report 1×Yellow card 6×number 2 in light blue rounded square
15 March 2025
20:15 		United States  25–29  Great Britain Palace of Culture and Sports, Varna
Attendance: 60
Referees: Prastalo, Pagh, Ismoilov
Hansen 8 (14–13) Pereira 8
1×Yellow card 6×number 2 in light blue rounded square Report 1×Yellow card 3×number 2 in light blue rounded square

Seventh place game

16 March 2025
13:00 		Azerbaijan  28–29  Moldova Palace of Culture and Sports, Varna
Attendance: 20
Referees: Balvan, Pagh, Ismoilov
Mammadli, Nazaraliyev 7 (14–20) Ledeniov 9
 3×number 2 in light blue rounded square Report  4×number 2 in light blue rounded square

Fifth place game

16 March 2025
15:15 		Paraguay  37–28  Cyprus Palace of Culture and Sports, Varna
Attendance: 30
Referees: Goretsov, Lončar, El-Saied
Rojas 8 (17–16) Hadjipetrou 6
 4×number 2 in light blue rounded square Report

Third place game

16 March 2025
17:30 		Nigeria  28–31  United States Palace of Culture and Sports, Varna
Attendance: 100
Referees: Doychinov, Thygesen, Cournil
Yusuf 13 (14–19) Hansen, Stromberg 8
1×Yellow card 2×number 2 in light blue rounded square Report  1×number 2 in light blue rounded square

Final

16 March 2025
20:15 		Bulgaria  25–29  Great Britain Palace of Culture and Sports, Varna
Attendance: 1,000
Referees: El-Saied, Fabryczny, Ismoilov
Vasilev 7 (13–15) Pereira 7
2×Yellow card 4×number 2 in light blue rounded square 1×Red card Report 2×Yellow card 4×number 2 in light blue rounded square

Final ranking

Rank Team
1st place, gold medalist(s)  Great Britain
2nd place, silver medalist(s)  Bulgaria
3rd place, bronze medalist(s)  United States
4  Nigeria
5  Paraguay
6  Cyprus
7  Moldova
8  Azerbaijan

Statistics

All-Star Team

The all-star team and awards was announced on 16 March 2025.[5]

Position Player
Goalkeeper Bulgaria Nikolay Petrov
Right wing United States Gary Phillips
Right back United Kingdom Francisco Pereira
Centre back Bulgaria Kristian Vasilev
Left back United Kingdom Sebastian Vellenoweth
Left wing United Kingdom Louis Christy
Pivot United States Andrew Donlin
Best defender United States Andrew Donlin
Most valuable player Bulgaria Svetlin Dimitrov

References

  1. ^ a b "Eight teams to compete at the 2025 IHF Men's Emerging Nations Championship". www.ihf.info. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
  2. ^ "Great Britain deliver masterclass performance against Bulgaria to clinch title at the 2025 IHF Men's Emerging Nations Championship". www.ihf.info. Retrieved 16 March 2025.
  3. ^ "Teams find out their fate at the 2025 IHF Men's Emerging Nations Championship draw". IHF. 28 January 2025. Retrieved 28 January 2025.
  4. ^ "2025 IHF Men's Emerging Nations Championship schedule revealed". IHF. 7 March 2025. Retrieved 7 March 2025.
  5. ^ "2025 IHF Men's Emerging Nations Championship: All-Star team revealed". competition.ihf.info. 16 March 2025.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.