Al-Yad Youth and Saudi Arabia in the Asian tournament tomorrow

The Kuwaiti youth handball team is set to face Saudi Arabia tomorrow, Friday, in the quarter-finals of the 19th Asian Youth Championship, which serves as a qualifier for the 2027 World Cup in North Macedonia, hosted by the Chinese city of Chuzhou.

The “Blue” team lost to the United Arab Emirates 28-29 in the seventh and final round of the first stage, while Saudi Arabia defeated Hong Kong 46-11, Qatar beat India 50-26, and China overcame Oman 41-26.

With these results, the Kuwaiti team finished fourth in Group 2 with six points, while the UAE temporarily led with 10 points, followed by South Korea with nine points and Japan with four points. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia topped Group 1 with 10 points, ahead of Bahrain and China (six points each), Taipei (four points), and Oman (two points), while Hong Kong remained scoreless.

The quarter-final matchups are taking shape, with Kuwait, fourth in Group 2, facing Saudi Arabia, first in Group 1. Meanwhile, the winner of Group 2 (either the UAE or South Korea) will play Taipei, the second-place team from Group 1 will face the third-place team from Group 2, and the second-place team from Group 2 will meet the third-place team from Group 1. According to the tournament regulations, the four teams that reach the semi-finals qualify directly for the 2027 Youth World Cup in North Macedonia.