2019 IHF Emerging Nations Championship

The 2019 IHF Emerging Nations Handball Championship was the third edition of the IHF Emerging Nations Championship held in Georgia under the aegis of International Handball Federation from 7 to 16 June 2019.^[1]

3rd IHF Emerging Nations Championship 2019

Tournament details
Host country	Georgia
Venue(s)	1 (in 1 host city)
Dates	8–16 June
Teams	12 (from 5 confederations)
Final positions
Champions	Georgia (1st title)
Runner-up	Cuba
Third place	Bulgaria
Fourth place	Great Britain
Tournament statistics
Matches played	42
Goals scored	2,551 (60.74 per match)
Attendance	4,556 (108 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Sebastien Edgar (66 goals)
Awards
Best player	Giorgi Tskhovrebadze
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Georgia defeated Cuba in the final to win their first title and earned the right to compete at the Relegation Round of 2022 European Championship qualification.^[2]

A total of twelve countries participated in the tournament.

Venues

The championship were played in Tbilisi, Georgia.

Tbilisi	Tbilisi
Tbilisi Sports Palace Capacity: 9,700

Participating teams

Unlike previous edition, Europe was represented only by the teams who competed at the first phase of 2022 European Championship qualification and failed to advance to the Relegation Round. That implied Faroe Islands not to defend their title at this tournament.

Country	Previous appearances in championship
Azerbaijan (3rd placed team of EURO 2022 Qualification Phase 1 Group B)	1 (2017)
Bulgaria (2nd placed team of EURO 2022 Qualification Phase 1 Group A)	2 (2015, 2017)
China	2 (2015, 2017)
Colombia (Winner of 2018 South and Central American Emerging Nations Championship)	0 (debut)
Cuba (Winner of 2019 NorCa Emerging Nations Championship)[3]	0 (debut)
Georgia (2nd placed team of EURO 2022 Qualification Phase 1 Group B)	1 (2017)
Great Britain (3rd placed team of EURO 2022 Qualification Phase 1 Group A)	2 (2015, 2017)
India	0 (debut)
Ireland (4th placed team of EURO 2022 Qualification Phase 1 Group A)	2 (2015, 2017)
Malta (4th placed team of EURO 2022 Qualification Phase 1 Group B)	2 (2015, 2017)
Nigeria	0 (debut)
United States (Wildcard)	0 (debut)

¹ Bold indicates champion for that year. Italics indicates host.

Draw

The draw was held on 26 April 2019.^[4] Georgia had the right to choose their group after the draw was completed.^[5]

Seeding

Pot 1	Pot 2	Pot 3	Pot 4	Pot 5	Pot 6
Bulgaria  China	Georgia  Azerbaijan	Great Britain  Ireland	Colombia  Malta	Cuba  United States	India  Nigeria

Preliminary round

All times are local (UTC+4).

Group A

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Cuba	5	5	0	0	167	130	+37	10	Semifinals
2	Great Britain	5	4	0	1	156	144	+12	8
3	China	5	3	0	2	150	138	+12	6	5–8th place semifinals
4	Colombia	5	2	0	3	148	152	−4	4
5	Azerbaijan	5	1	0	4	162	166	−4	2	9–12th place semifinals
6	India	5	0	0	5	151	204	−53	0

Source: IHF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) goal difference.

8 June 2019 10:00	Colombia	25–28	China	Tbilisi Sports Palace, Tbilisi Attendance: 150 Referees: Ershov, Pavliukov (RUS)
	Restrepo 10	(10–10)	Li Z. 8
	2× 4×	Report	2× 9×

8 June 2019 14:00	India	29–45	Azerbaijan	Tbilisi Sports Palace, Tbilisi Attendance: 98 Referees: Da Silva, Magalhães (BRA)
	Nain 8	(15–20)	Nazaraliyev 10
	3× 5×	Report	7× 1×

8 June 2019 16:00	Cuba	35–27	Great Britain	Tbilisi Sports Palace, Tbilisi Attendance: 50 Referees: Bíró, Kiss (HUN)
	Toledano 10	(17–9)	Green 8
	4×	Report	1× 7×

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9 June 2019 10:00	Colombia	35–30	Azerbaijan	Tbilisi Sports Palace, Tbilisi Attendance: 74 Referees: Vranes, Wenninger (AUT)
	Restrepo 12	(17–15)	Muradov, Nazaraliyev 8
	1× 10× 2×	Report	1× 5× 2×

9 June 2019 12:00	China	24–30	Cuba	Tbilisi Sports Palace, Tbilisi Attendance: 50 Referees: Hannes, Hannes (GER)
	Li Z. 9	(10–13)	Toledano 7
	1× 7×	Report	1× 7× 2×

9 June 2019 14:00	Great Britain	38–28	India	Tbilisi Sports Palace, Tbilisi Attendance: 50 Referees: Mitrović, Kažanegra (MNE)
	Edgar 14	(16–13)	D. Singh 9
	2× 5×	Report	2×

---

10 June 2019 10:00	Azerbaijan	35–36	Great Britain	Tbilisi Sports Palace, Tbilisi Attendance: 50 Referees: Carmaux, Mursch (FRA)
	Nazaraliyev, Salimov 8	(15–20)	Edgar 11
	2× 7×	Report	1× 6×

10 June 2019 12:00	Colombia	24–31	Cuba	Tbilisi Sports Palace, Tbilisi Attendance: 50 Referees: Monitillo, Simone (ITA)
	Romero 6	(10–12)	A. García 8
	1× 2×	Report	2× 6×

10 June 2019 14:00	India	29–40	China	Tbilisi Sports Palace, Tbilisi Attendance: 15 Referees: El-Beltagy, Nasser (EGY)
	Nain 9	(15–15)	Huang 8
	2× 3×	Report	1× 4×

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12 June 2019 10:00	Azerbaijan	26–31	Cuba	Tbilisi Sports Palace, Tbilisi Attendance: 45 Referees: El-Beltagy, Nasser (EGY)
	Muradov 9	(13–16)	D. García 5
	2× 4× 1×	Report	1× 8×

12 June 2019 12:00	Great Britain	28–23	China	Tbilisi Sports Palace, Tbilisi Attendance: 50 Referees: Hermann, Madsen (DEN)
	Edgar 12	(12–12)	Li S. 6
	3×	Report	1× 7× 1×

12 June 2019 14:00	Colombia	41–36	India	Tbilisi Sports Palace, Tbilisi Attendance: 79 Referees: Ershov, Pavliukov (RUS)
	Mayo 9	(22–18)	D. Singh 13
	2× 3×	Report	1× 7×

---

13 June 2019 10:00	China	35–26	Azerbaijan	Tbilisi Sports Palace, Tbilisi Attendance: 50 Referees: Magalhães, Da Silva (BRA)
	three players 7	(17–12)	Nazaraliyev 10
	2× 5×	Report	4× 4×

13 June 2019 12:00	Great Britain	27–23	Colombia	Tbilisi Sports Palace, Tbilisi Attendance: 50 Referees: Hannes, Hannes (GER)
	Edgar 10	(13–8)	Restrepo 6
	2× 2×	Report	4×

13 June 2019 14:00	Cuba	40–29	India	Tbilisi Sports Palace, Tbilisi Attendance: 68 Referees: Kažanegra, Mitrović (SRB)
	Lafortán 9	(19–12)	D. Singh 6
	7× 1×	Report	2×

Group B

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Georgia (H)	5	5	0	0	166	85	+81	10	Semifinals
2	Bulgaria	5	4	0	1	159	124	+35	8
3	United States	5	3	0	2	176	132	+44	6	5–8th place semifinals
4	Nigeria	5	1	1	3	128	136	−8	3[a]
5	Ireland	5	1	1	3	143	165	−22	3[a]	9–12th place semifinals
6	Malta	5	0	0	5	72	202	−130	0

Source: IHF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) goal difference.
(H) Hosts
Notes:

1. Ireland 31–31 Nigeria

8 June 2019 12:00	Malta	13–38	Bulgaria	Tbilisi Sports Palace, Tbilisi Attendance: 50 Referees: Carmaux, Mursch (FRA)
	Harrison 6	(6–23)	Sv. Dimitrov 10
	4× 1×	Report	2× 1×

8 June 2019 18:30	Nigeria	14–27	Georgia	Tbilisi Sports Palace, Tbilisi Attendance: 800 Referees: Hermann, Madsen (DEN)
	Cole 4	(6–14)	Tskhovrebadze 6
	9×	Report	1× 7×

8 June 2019 20:30	United States	37–32	Ireland	Tbilisi Sports Palace, Tbilisi Attendance: 75 Referees: Monitillo, Simone (ITA)
	Fofana 13	(21–17)	Grace 13
	2× 1×	Report	1× 6×

---

9 June 2019 16:00	Bulgaria	38–35	United States	Tbilisi Sports Palace, Tbilisi Attendance: 87 Referees: Jovandić, Sekulić (SRB)
	Vasilev 11	(16–17)	Inahara 10
	1× 7×	Report	8× 1×

9 June 2019 18:00	Malta	13–39	Georgia	Tbilisi Sports Palace, Tbilisi Attendance: 100 Referees: El-Beltagy, Nasser (EGY)
	Fenech 4	(7–16)	Dikhaminjia 8
	3× 1×	Report	1× 7× 1×

9 June 2019 20:00	Ireland	31–31	Nigeria	Tbilisi Sports Palace, Tbilisi Attendance: 50 Referees: Da Silva, Magalhães (BRA)
	three players 7	(14–16)	Anih 12
	1× 2×	Report	2× 2×

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10 June 2019 16:00	United States	44–10	Malta	Tbilisi Sports Palace, Tbilisi Attendance: 91 Referees: Mitrović, Kažanegra (MNE)
	Reed 10	(24–8)	Harrison 5
	1× 4×	Report	2×

10 June 2019 18:00	Georgia	37–17	Ireland	Tbilisi Sports Palace, Tbilisi Attendance: 300 Referees: Jovandić, Sekulić (SRB)
	Tskhovrebadze 7	(18–7)	three players 4
	2× 5×	Report	6×

10 June 2019 20:00	Nigeria	19–27	Bulgaria	Tbilisi Sports Palace, Tbilisi Attendance: 76 Referees: Ershov, Pavliukov (RUS)
	Anih, Kalu 5	(5–12)	Sv. Dimitrov 8
	1× 5× 1×	Report	3× 1×

---

12 June 2019 16:00	Ireland	22–37	Bulgaria	Tbilisi Sports Palace, Tbilisi Attendance: 70 Referees: Hannes, Hannes (GER)
	Grace 6	(10–16)	Vasilev 8
	4×	Report	2× 4×

12 June 2019 18:00	Georgia	28–22	United States	Tbilisi Sports Palace, Tbilisi Attendance: 270 Referees: Bíró, Kiss (HUN)
	Tskhovrebadze 9	(17–11)	Lee 6
	1× 3×	Report	5×

12 June 2019 20:00	Malta	13–40	Nigeria	Tbilisi Sports Palace, Tbilisi Attendance: 69 Referees: Vranes, Wenninger (AUT)
	Harrison, Seifert 3	(4–18)	Anas 9
	4×	Report	2×

---

13 June 2019 16:00	Ireland	41–23	Malta	Tbilisi Sports Palace, Tbilisi Attendance: 70 Referees: Monitillo, Simone (ITA)
	Grace 9	(24–12)	Harrison 6
	3× 4×	Report	1× 4×

13 June 2019 18:00	Bulgaria	19–35	Georgia	Tbilisi Sports Palace, Tbilisi Attendance: 174 Referees: Carmaux, Mursch (FRA)
	Balchev, Vasilev 4	(11–19)	Tskhovrebadze 7
	1× 5×	Report	1× 5×

13 June 2019 20:00	United States	38–24	Nigeria	Tbilisi Sports Palace, Tbilisi Attendance: 30 Referees: Hermann, Madsen (DEN)
	Skorupa 8	(15–10)	four players 4
	1× 4×	Report	5×

Knockout stage

Bracket

	Semifinals				Final
	15 June
	Cuba (OT)	39
					16 June
	Bulgaria	36
					Cuba	21
	15 June
					Georgia	31
	Georgia	28
	Great Britain	21
					Third place game
					16 June
					Bulgaria	47
					Great Britain	31

Fifth place bracket

	5–8th place semifinals				Fifth place game
	15 June
	China	28
					16 June
	Nigeria	24
					China	27
	15 June
					United States	35
	United States	42
	Colombia	32
					Seventh place game
					16 June
					Nigeria	33
					Colombia	31

Ninth place bracket

	9–12th place semifinals				Ninth place game
	15 June
	Azerbaijan	37
					16 June
	Malta	22
					Azerbaijan	28
	15 June
					India	46
	Ireland	38
	India (Pen.)	39
					Eleventh place game
					16 June
					Malta	18
					Ireland	39

9–12th place semifinals

15 June 2019 10:00	Azerbaijan	37–22	Malta	Tbilisi Sports Palace, Tbilisi Attendance: 40 Referees: Ershov, Pavliukov (RUS)
	Nazaraliyev 16	(18–13)	Seifret 5
	5×	Report	1× 7×

---

15 June 2019 12:00	Ireland	38–39	India	Tbilisi Sports Palace, Tbilisi Attendance: 64 Referees: Da Silva, Magalhães (BRA)
	Grace 13	(14–19)	N. Singh 10
	3× 5×	Report	1× 5×
	FT: 32–32 Pen: 6–7

5–8th place semifinals

15 June 2019 14:00	China	28–24	Nigeria	Tbilisi Sports Palace, Tbilisi Attendance: 50 Referees: Bíró, Kiss (HUN)
	Huang 7	(12–13)	Ani 7
	1× 4×	Report	1× 4×

---

15 June 2019 16:00	United States	42–32	Colombia	Tbilisi Sports Palace, Tbilisi Attendance: 50 Referees: Carmaux, Mursch (FRA)
	Fofana 8	(22–18)	Romero 10
	2× 5×	Report	5× 1×

Semifinals

15 June 2019 18:00	Georgia	28–21	Great Britain	Tbilisi Sports Palace, Tbilisi Attendance: 198 Referees: Hermann, Madsen (DEN)
	Tskhovrebadze 8	(13–10)	Edgar 7
	1× 3×	Report	3×

---

15 June 2019 20:00	Cuba	39–36 (ET)	Bulgaria	Tbilisi Sports Palace, Tbilisi Attendance: 50 Referees: Jovandić, Sekulić (SRB)
	Taboada 11	(20–14)	Sv. Dimitrov 15
	2× 10×	Report	2× 7× 1×
	FT: 32–32 ET: 7–4

Eleventh place game

16 June 2019 10:00	Malta	18–39	Ireland	Tbilisi Sports Palace, Tbilisi Attendance: 50 Referees: El-Beltagy, Nasser (EGY)
	three players 4	(11–23)	Thompson 9
	4×	Report	3×

Ninth place game

16 June 2019 12:00	Azerbaijan	28–46	India	Tbilisi Sports Palace, Tbilisi Attendance: 63 Referees: Hermann, Madsen (DEN)
	Nazaraliyev 8	(13–18)	Ankit 11
	1× 4×	Report	1× 2×

Seventh place game

16 June 2019 14:00	Nigeria	33–31	Colombia	Tbilisi Sports Palace, Tbilisi Attendance: 35 Referees: Da Silva, Magalhães (BRA)
	Kalu 10	(20–14)	Restrepo 9
	2× 8×	Report	1× 4×

Fifth place game

16 June 2019 16:00	China	27–35	United States	Tbilisi Sports Palace, Tbilisi Attendance: 100 Referees: Jovandić, Sekulić (SRB)
	Li S. 9	(16–16)	Bengozi 8
	1× 4×	Report	1× 5×

Third place game

16 June 2019 18:00	Bulgaria	47–31	Great Britain	Tbilisi Sports Palace, Tbilisi Attendance: 100 Referees: Hannes, Hannes (GER)
	Atanasov 12	(26–17)	Da Silva, Edgar 8
	1× 4×	Report	1×

Final

16 June 2019 20:00	Cuba	21–31	Georgia	Tbilisi Sports Palace, Tbilisi Attendance: 515 Referees: Bíró, Kiss (HUN)
	Taboada, Toledano 5	(10–14)	Tskhovrebadze 8
	1× 9× 1×	Report	1× 7×

Final standings

Rank	Team
	Georgia
	Cuba
	Bulgaria
4	Great Britain
5	United States
6	China
7	Nigeria
8	Colombia
9	India
10	Azerbaijan
11	Ireland
12	Malta

Team advanced to the Relegation Round of qualification for EURO 2022

All-Star Team

All-Star Team of the tournament and MVP.^[6]

Position	Player
Goalkeeper	Magnol Suárez
Right wing	Svetlin Dimitrov
Right back	Giorgi Tskhovrebadze
Centre back	Kristian Vasilev
Left back	Teimuraz Orjonikidze
Left wing	Huang Peijie
Pivot	Eduardo Valiente
Most valuable player	Giorgi Tskhovrebadze

Statistics

Top goalscorers Rank Name Team Goals Shots % 1 Sebastien Edgar  Great Britain 66 84 79 2 Sabir Nazaraliyev  Azerbaijan 64 87 74 3 Sebastián Restrepo  Colombia 56 98 57 4 Svetlin Dimitrov  Bulgaria 55 79 70 5 Joshua Grace  Ireland 54 90 60 6 Giorgi Tskhovrebadze  Georgia 51 76 67 7 Kristian Vasilev  Bulgaria 48 75 64 Devinder Singh  India 95 51 9 Omar Toledano  Cuba 43 70 61 10 Aboubakar Fofana  United States 42 78 54 Source: IHF

Top goalkeepers Rank Name Team % Saves Shots 1 Zurab Tsinsadze  Georgia 47 35 75 2 Shota Tevzadze  Georgia 47 75 161 3 Nicolas Robinson  United States 41 49 119 4 Sean O'Reilly  Ireland 41 16 39 5 Anthony Tomas  Ireland 41 9 22 6 Michael Solomon  Nigeria 38 44 116 7 Wang Quan  China 36 42 116 Rene Ingram  United States 63 174 9 Stefan Dimitrov  Bulgaria 36 26 72 10 Ivaylo Kostov  Bulgaria 36 81 228 Source: IHF