European handball champions and current trophy holders Barcelona beat Zamalek of Egypt to reach semifinals DUBAI: Aalborg on Wednesday defeated Saudi’s Al-Wehda 38-27 at King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah to join European handball champions Barcelona, who beat Zamalek, in the semifinals of the 2021 IHF Men’s Super Globe. The Danish club are taking part in the competition, organized by the Saudi Arabian Handball Federation, after finishing runners-up to Barcelona in the 2020-21 European Handball Federation Men’s Champions League final, while Al-Wehda were representing the host nation. Aalborg dominated the match from the start, leading 19-10 at halftime, before controlling the second period to record an 11-point win. On Thursday, Al-Wehda will play Sydney University, representatives of Oceania Continent Handball Federation, in the battle to finish highest among teams ranked five to 10 in the tournament. Meanwhile, Barcelona, the European champions and current holders of the IHF Men’s Super Globe title, reached the semifinal by defeating Zamalek of Egypt 36-32. It is the sixth time Barcelona has qualified for the World Cup semifinals, having won the competition in 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018 and 2019, and finished third in 2015. Barcelona will now face Brazilian opponents EC Pinheiros, the 2021 South and Central America Handball Confederation champions, in the semifinals, while Germany’s Magdeburg will meet Aalborg. Earlier on Wednesday, Al-Duhail of Qatar lost 35-23 in the quarterfinal against Magdeburg 23-35, while Al-Noor of Saudi Arabia narrowly went down 34-33 to EC Pinheiros.