The dream of defending the title at the Club World Cup is possible for him SC Magdeburg further. Thanks to a strong final phase, the handball Bundesliga team won against Al Ahly with 28:24 (12:15). The best Magdeburg shooter and Man of the Match was Manuel Zehnder with nine goals. On Thursday, Magdeburg will play against Veszprem for the title and could be the first team to win the competition for the fourth time in a row.

It began against the Egyptian local hero Al Ahly Magdeburg with a missed seven meter and was chasing a deficit for a long time – after two technical errors in a row, the score was four goals early on (11th). Even a time out by coach Bennet Wiegert initially didn’t bring any improvement because the SCM couldn’t find any access in defense. With a six-goal deficit, Wiegert called the second timeout (5:11/20.). At least Magdeburg halved the deficit by the break.

The second half also began with a missed seven-meter penalty from the SCM. For a long time, the Magdeburgers found it difficult to find gaps in Al Ahly’s defense. Nevertheless, the SCM remained within striking distance. With a long majority, Magdeburg finally took the lead for the first time (23:22/52.). The defending champions immediately expanded this to four goals and didn’t let their lead be taken away.

© dpa-infocom, dpa:241001-930-249297/1