Bouncing back after a hard-fought loss against Great Britain in the semi-finals, the United States of America celebrated their maiden medal at the IHF Men’s Emerging Nations Championship, securing a clear win in the bronze medal match against Nigeria, 31:28, which they dominated from start to finish.

BRONZE MEDAL MATCH
Nigeria vs United States of America 28:31 (14:19)

Five days ago, the United States of America and Nigeria opened the 2025 IHF Men’s Emerging Nations Championship, with an exciting match, full of twists and turns. Back then, the USA, arguably the most experienced team in the competition, had an 18:12 lead at the break, only to falter and save a draw late in the match, 31:31.

This time around, a medal was on the table when the two teams concluded their participation at Bulgaria 2025, but the scenario was pretty much the same in the first 30 minutes of the match, with USA taking an early lead and Nigeria somehow managing to hover around, despite their scoring efficiency plummeting throughout the start of the match.

For the first 17 minutes of the match, Nigeria only had two players on the scoreboard, right back Faruk Yusuf and right wing Kareem Ajibike, who combined for seven goals. As in their previous matches, the African side – which secured the best finish for any African side at the IHF Men’s Emerging Nations Championship – had their teething issues in the first half, being easily outplayed by their opponents.

After 11 minutes, the USA were relentless and enjoyed an 8:3 lead, opening a five-goal early lead, thanks to their excellent attack, which had an 83% shooting efficiency in the first 30 minutes. But it was also their goalkeeper, Pal Merkovszky, with four saves, which helped the USA build this lead.

Nigeria slowly got back into the groove and left back John Shagari was more efficient, after missing his first three shots. Over the last 13 minutes of the first half, Shagari scored four times and dished three assists, enabling Nigeria, which had nine turnovers, as opposed to USA’s 11, to stay in the match.

The five-goal lead at the break, 19:14, was created through the better shooting efficiency for the USA, which converted 83% of their shots, while Nigeria had a 61% efficiency after 30 minutes, with the African side expected to improve after the break, where they usually played better.

USA had Lukas Hansen and Jonas Stromberg combine for 10 goals in the first half, while Amar Amitovic and Andrew Donlin – USA’s top scorers in the first four matches – had five goals between them, as USA opened the second half with two consecutive goals to extend their lead, 21:14.

Any Nigeria temptative comeback was short-lived, as a 3:0 run for the African side was quickly stopped in its tracks by the USA, which deployed their own 5:2 run, inspired by Lukas Hansen and Gary Phillips, with the two wings scoring four times between them, to take the USA to their largest lead in the match, 28:20, with 13 minutes to go.

Yusuf did his best to counter the USA, scoring 13 goals and taking his overall tally in the competition to 40 goals, the second best in the competition, but it was too little, too late and nothing that could really impact the outcome of the match.

Despite their issues late in the match, when they allowed Nigeria to cut the gap, the USA were stronger than in the previous encounter against the African side and eventually took a 31:28 win, sealing the bronze medal, as Hansen and Stromberg each had eight goals.

In their second appearance at the IHF Men’s Emerging Nations Championship, the United States of America finished third and secured their maiden medal, displaying some brilliant flashes on the court, proving they have plenty of potential for the future.

On the other side, Nigeria, which had a three-match unbeaten streak to start the competition, finished with two losses and ended up on the fourth place, which is still the best finish for any African side in the history of the IHF Men’s Emerging Nations Championship.

Player of the Match: Jonas Stromberg (United States of America)