Qatar's Benali promises to fight against Sweden, thanks Egypt for warm welcome
After booking their place in the quarterfinals of the 27th IHF Men’s Handball World Championship - Egypt 2021, Qatar’s pivot Youssef Benali has expressed his pleasure with the warm reception by Egypt while hosting the event.
Qatar are expected to face a tough mission against Sweden in the quarterfinal of the World Championship on Wednesday at (21:30 GMT+2) at Cairo Stadium Sports Hall.
“We will fight until the final second of the game against Sweden to snatch a place in the tournament’s semifinals,” the Qatari star said.
“Sweden are a big team and they are one of the teams who could win the World Championship title, so we will face a tough opponent,”
“I hope to put on a superb performance and why don’t we claim the victory?” Benali added.
The Asian champions reached the quarterfinals of the World Championship after beating Argentina and snatching the runners-up place of Group II of the main round with 6 points.
“The tournament is difficult especially with participating big number of teams for the first time alongside lack of preparation due to coronavirus pandemic,” the Qatari pivot said.
“We succeeded to book a place among the best 8 teams in the world despite losing number of our talented players before arriving to Egypt due to injuries,”
The quarterfinal witness appearance of two non-European teams for the first time in the tournament’s history since the 1999 edition that also took place in Egypt.
“It’s a great achievement to see two Arab teams among the best 8 teams in the world as Egypt is a brilliant team and they could reach the semis, I wish them good luck,” Benali said.
“Egypt until now succeeded in hosting the World Championship, so I want to thank the Organising Committee and the International Handball Federation for their efforts despite the difficult circumstances,” the Qatari star said.
“I thank Egypt for the brilliant and excellent organization as we enjoyed warm reception,” Qatar’s pivot concluded.