(Reuters) -FC Barcelona will face defending champions Veszprem HC of Hungary in the final of handball’s Club World Championship in Egypt's New Administrative Capital on Thursday as the Spanish side seek to extend their record number of wins in the competition to six.
Barcelona defeated home favourites Al Ahly 26-21 in Tuesday’s second semi-final after Veszprem had earlier booked their place in the decider with a 23-20 victory over German outfit SC Magdeburg in a repeat of last year’s gold medal match.
Barcelona have now qualified for the Club World Championship final for the eighth time in 11 appearances, winning five of the previous seven deciders they have played, though their last triumph came in 2019.
They did not qualify outright for this year’s tournament but were handed a wildcard entry by the International Handball Federation to "raise the competitive level of the championship and further increase international attention and public interest in the event," the organisation said.
Veszprem beat Barcelona 39-34 in overtime in the semi-finals last year on their way to lifting the trophy as they defeated Magdeburg 34-33 in the decider.
(Reporting by Nick Said; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
