Egypt handball team defeat Japan in preparation for World Cup

CAIRO-6 January 2021: Egypt defeated Japan 34-29 on Tuesday night at Cairo International Stadium Hall in the team’s first friendly match ahead of the 27th IHF Men's World Championship, scheduled in Egypt between 13 and 31 January.

The Japanese team, which was the first squad to arrive in Egypt for the World Cup, was leading the first half 17-16 but the Pharaohs bounced back in the second half to win the match.

The Egyptian Minister of Youth and Sports Dr Ashraf Sobhy attended the match, which saw a full array of precautions in place.

These precautionary measures are set to be implemented in the whole tournament, which will see the participation of 32 teams for the first time in the history.

The 32 teams will split in eight groups of four teams each, with the top three teams of each group reaches the second round.

The 24 teams will then be split in four groups of six teams, with the top two teams from each group will advance to the quarter-finals.

The Egyptian team finished 6th when Egypt hosted the tournament for the first time in 1999 and two years later the Pharaohs impressed the world when they finished 4th in France.