Two-time bronze medallist at the IHF Men’s Emerging Nations Championship, Bulgaria secured their maiden final spot, with a clear 30:23 win over Nigeria in the first semi-final of the fifth edition of the competition.

SEMI-FINALS
Bulgaria vs Nigeria 30:23 (15:8)

With three wins in double digits and a top defence, which conceded only 59 goals in the first three matches of the preliminary round, as well as the advantage of hosting the competition in Varna, Bulgaria were favoured against Nigeria before the first semi-final of the 2025 IHF Men’s Emerging Nations Championship.

But the pressure was also on the European side to deliver, as Nigeria were no pushovers and were one of the three undefeated teams coming into the semi-finals, with some serious firepower in the mould of Faruk Yusuf, arguably the most consistent back in the competition so far.

Nevertheless, Bulgaria enjoyed a dream start of the match, mostly due to their excellent defence, which stood tall throughout the first 16 minutes and constantly frustrated Nigeria. With goalkeeper Nikolay Petrov boasting six saves and a 60% saving efficiency in the first part of the match, Bulgaria conceded only four goals.

In turn, the attack was fulminant, with an 85% scoring efficiency, a 6:0 unanswered run and an eight-goal lead, 12:4 after the first 16 minutes, as Kristian Vasilev and top goal scorer Svetlin Dimitrov each adding four goals under their name.

By that point, Dimitrov had 42 goals in the competition and Bulgaria were clearly the better side, as Nigeria could not find their footing, as Yusuf had only two goals from five shots and three turnovers, with the African side stopping at a 31% shooting efficiency, impossible to provide more in attack.

Were Nigeria to still hope for a comeback, their ambitions were quashed fast in the second half by a 4:0 Bulgaria run, with Dimitrov having three of those goals and Vasilev scoring one more to take the lead for the first time in double digits, 19:9, after 34 minutes.

The right wing extended his streak of matches with double-digits scoring to four, with his 10th goal in the 44th minute, taking his total to 51 goals overall in the competition, virtually ensuring the top goal scorer title.

But that did not mean that Bulgaria stopped scoring. With Vasilev also shining on the courth with six goals and six assists, the European side continued to press to secure their fourth win in double digits, still on track with 10 minutes to go, 26:16.

Eventually, Dimitrov hit the 50-goal mark at this edition of the competition in only four matches, with his 12th goal in the 54th minute, with the right wing finishing the match with 13 goals under his belt. While Bulgaria did not secure another double-digits win, they still were comfortably up, 30:23, by the end of the match, celebrating their fourth win in a row and the qualification in the final with the 2.000 fans in Varna.

After finishing third two times, in 2019 and 2023, securing the bronze medal, Bulgaria will now fight for the trophy, having ensured their third consecutive medal at the IHF Men’s Emerging Nations Championship. Their opponents will be decided after the second semi-final between Great Britain and the United States of America.

For Nigeria and an African team, this is the best finishing position at the IHF Men’s Emerging Nations Championship, but Yusuf and his teammates will still need to fight in the bronze medal match on Sunday to finish on the podium.

Player of the Match: Mihael Ivanov (Bulgaria)