A Kuwaiti player is held back as he makes a goal attempt against Sweden.

CAIRO, Aug 7: Kuwait’s national under-19 handball team will take on Portugal today at 3:00 PM, in the second round of Group A at the 11th Under-19 Handball World Championship. The tournament is being held in Cairo, Egypt, and will run until August 16. Also in Group A today, Sweden will face Austria.

Other matches scheduled for today include Germany vs. Faroe Islands, Uruguay vs. Slovenia, Norway vs. Mexico, Hungary vs. Kosovo, Morocco vs. Switzerland, and Argentina vs. France.

Kuwait opened its World Championship campaign with a 39-22 loss to Sweden, while Austria edged Portugal 37-36 in a closely contested match.

Kuwait is eager to improve its performance and put on a stronger display against Portugal despite the challenge, hoping to secure two points in this crucial match before facing Austria tomorrow, Saturday, in the third and final round of the preliminary stage.

This edition marks only the second time in the championship’s history that such a large number of teams are participating, following the 2023 tournament in Croatia. Kuwait prepared for the World Championship with an overseas training camp in Croatia and Slovenia, playing several friendly matches to bring the players to peak form ahead of the competition.

By Khaled Al-Enezi

Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff