The Preliminary round is complete at the 2010 African Championships in Egypt. In the Men’s competition Tunisia, Algeria and Egypt dominated their respective pools winning all three of their matches by convincing scores. In Group A, the Democratic Republic of Congo edged Nigeria for 2nd place on goal differential as the two teams had played to a draw on the first day. Angola and Morocco are the other two sides that qualified for the Main Round. The Main Round pools are:

Group I: Tunisia, Angola, Algeria
Group II: Egypt, Democratic Republic of Congo, Morocco

Tunisia and Egypt are the odss on favorites to win their respective groups. If Algeria can take care of Angola a potential Egypt – Algeria semifinal showdown is in the offing.

Men’s Preliminary Groups (Final Standing and table of results): http://www.handball2010.com/2010/file/Position%20Of%20Men.pdf

In the Women’s competition the teams appear to be much more evenly matched. In Group A, Tunisia won all 3 of their matches, but 2nd place Cote d’Ivoire played them close, 31-27. In Group B, Angola which has dominated African competition for several years did not emerge unscathed as 2nd place Congo managed a 25-25 draw against the reigning champion. The Women’s preliminary competition did not eliminate any teams, but only set seeding for the quarterfinals. Those matches are:

Angola vs. Cameroon
Congo vs. Algeria

Tunisia vs. Democratic Republic of the Congo
Cote d’Ivoire vs. Egypt

Women’s Preliminary Groups (Final Standings and table of results): http://www.handball2010.com/2010/file/Position%20Of%20Women.pdf