07-08-2025
Kuwait lose to Sweden in Junior Handball Championship in Cairo
U19 World Championship, hosted by Egypt to end on August 17
CAIRO: The Kuwaiti national handball team lost to Sweden 39-22 on Wednesday at the start of the U19 World Championship, hosted by Egypt until August 17. The first half ended in favor of the Swedish team 18-11, while the Blues tried to make up for the result in the second half, but the Swedish team succeeded in ending the match in its favor.
Thirty-two teams are participating in the World Handball Championship, divided into eight groups. Kuwait was placed in the first group, which includes Sweden, Portugal and Austria. The Kuwaiti team list includes players Hussein Mandani, Salem Al-Hamoud, Hussein Boland, Abdul Latif Salmeen, Yousef Madouh, Yaqoub Hassan, Abdul Wahab Al-Mutawa, Abdul Hadi Mohammed, Hassan Al-Rashid, Obaid Al-Shammari, Hassan Ahmed Rajab, Saad Al-Khamis, Hussein Al-Ustadh, Abdul Mohsen Al-Hashel and Naif Kuwait will play in the U-19 World Cup on April 8 in Cairo, with the participation of six Arab teams: Egypt (host), Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco and Kuwait.
CAIRO: Kuwait national team and Swedish players seen in action. -- KUNA photos
According to the draw, Group A includes Kuwait, Sweden, Portugal and Austria, while Group B includes Hungary, Switzerland, Morocco, and Kosovo. Group C includes Serbia, Spain, Croatia and Algeria.
Group D includes Iceland, Brazil, Guinea and Saudi Arabia. Group E includes Germany, Slovenia, Uruguay and the Faroe Islands. Group F includes Norway, France, Argentina and Mexico. Group G includes Egypt, Japan and South Korea. Group G includes Denmark, Tunisia, the United States and the Czech Republic.
This is the second participation for the Kuwaiti national team. For juniors throughout its history in the FIFA U-17 World Cup, after the first participation in Tunisia 2009, in which the 'Blue Hand' achieved 19th place, noting that the tournament was launched for the first time in 2005. The Danish national team holds the record for the number of championships with six championships, while Spain is the last champion of the tournament (the title holder) that was held in Croatia 2023. — KUNA