Nigeria’s Senior Men’s Handball team, the Golden Arrows, kept their 2027 IHF Men’s World Championship hopes alive after grinding out a tense 30–28 victory over Guinea in the 5th–8th place playoff at the 27th Africa Men’s Handball Nations Cup in Kigali, Rwanda.

The encounter forms part of Africa’s qualification pathway to determine the continent’s fifth representative at the 2027 World Championship in Germany, and Nigeria rose to the occasion with resilience and composure under pressure.

The Golden Arrows were forced to battle adversity early when Faruk Yusuf was shown a red card in the first half, reducing the team to six men for long stretches of the contest. Despite the numerical disadvantage, Nigeria showed remarkable discipline, closing the first half with a narrow 16–14 lead.

Guinea pushed hard after the restart, but the Nigerians maintained their tempo and defensive organisation, absorbing pressure and executing clinically in key moments to protect their advantage and see out the contest.

Azeez Sulaiman produced a commanding performance, scoring eight goals to claim the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award, while John Shagari also netted eight goals to spearhead Nigeria’s attacking charge.

The victory sets up a decisive fifth-place playoff clash against Angola, who defeated Morocco 27–20. A win in that encounter will secure Africa’s final ticket to the 2027 World Championship.

Should the Golden Arrows prevail, it would mark Nigeria’s return to the global stage for the first time since 1999, a milestone that underscores the magnitude of the opportunity before them.

With confidence growing and momentum firmly on their side, Nigeria now turn their attention to one final hurdle in their pursuit of a historic World Cup qualification.