Two teams who are chasing their maiden final berth at the IHF Men’s Junior World Championship, Portugal and the Faroe Islands, plus two Scandianvian powerhouses, Denmark and Sweden, are colliding in the two semi-finals at Poland 2025, as the final wekeend of the competition is upon us.

24 teams will play their last matches in Poland, with the final table from the 9th to the 32nd place decided on Friday in Katowice, Kielce and Sosnowiec.

Semi-finals

21:00 Portugal vs Faroe Islands
21:00 Denmark vs Sweden

Placement Matches 5-8
18:30 Norway vs Germany
18:30 Slovenia vs Egypt

Placement Match 9/10
11:45 France vs Spain

Placement Match 11/12
09:30 Austria vs Croatia

Placement Match 13/14
16:15 Hungary vs Switzerland

Placement Match 15/16
14:00 Romania vs Japan

Placement Match 17/18 (President’s Cup final)
16:15 Iceland vs Serbia

Placement Match 19/20
14:00 Poland vs Algeria

Placement Match 21/22
11:45 Morocco vs Tunisia

Placement Match 23/24
09:30 Argentina vs Republic of Korea 

Placement Match 25/26
18:30 North Macedonia vs United States of America

Placement Match 27/28
16:15 Brazil vs Bahrain

Placement Match 29/30
14:00 Uruguay vs Saudi Arabia

Placement Match 31/32
11:45 Mexico vs Canada

Semi-finals
21:00 CEST Portugal vs Faroe Islands

Portugal and the Faroe Islands are chasing history. Both teams arrive in the semi-finals with a clear mission — reaching their first final at the IHF Men's Junior World Championship. Portugal overcame Egypt in the quarter-finals, while the Faroe Islands beat Slovenia.

Portugal are back in the last four for the third time, after finishing third in 1995 and fourth in 2019. This time, they look more stable than ever, with a strong team capable of comebacks. At Poland 2025, they are still unbeaten, while the Faroe Islands have only lost to the other semi-finalist, Denmark.

Portugal boast the best defence of the tournament, conceding just 139 goals (23.1 per match), and the fourth-best attack with 215 goals. This will be a huge test for the Faroese. Diogo Rêma Marques has a 37.9% save efficiency, while João Magalhães, Tomás Teixeira, and Rafael Vasconcelos continue to lead the way.

"It's a team based on Oli Mittun, who is one of the best players in the world of this generation, but besides Oli Mittun, they have some excellent players, such as the pivot [Ísak Vedelsbøl]. Only the four best teams are competing, we expect a very difficult game but we also know and believe that if we are at our best, they are an opponent we can beat," said Portugal's head coach Carlos Martingo.

For the Faroe Islands, this is history in the making — their first-ever semi-final after coming to Poland 2025 with a wild card. This generation has been building up to this: 9th at the M18 EHF EURO, 8th at the IHF Men's Youth World Championship, then 18th at the 2024 M20 EHF EURO, and now a medal fight — this team has pushed past expectations. Oli Mittun leads the competition with 59 goals, and Aleksandar Lacok has stepped up in goal when they needed him most.

This will not be the first time these teams have crossed paths at this level. In the main round of 2023, the Faroe Islands took a clear 27:19 win. However, this generation also clashed at the IHF Men's Youth World Championship in the Placement Matches 5-8, where Portugal won after a penalty shoot-out.

21:00 CEST Denmark vs Sweden

A classic Scandinavian derby with a spot in the final on the line — Denmark and Sweden meet for the 18th time at junior level, with Denmark holding the historical edge at 10 wins to 6. Denmark are also coming into the clash unbeaten at the flagship competition after defeating Norway in the quarter-finals, while Sweden have only lost to Portugal in a thriller finish in the main round, and ultimately eliminated Germany from the medal fight.

Denmark have reached their 13th semi-final at the IHF Men's Junior World Championship and have only fallen at this stage three times — in 1979, 1983, and 2007. The bar is set high, and coming from a strong handball nation, they know it.

They boast the best attack of Poland 2025 with 229 goals scored (38.17 per game), and have shown both composure and the ability to perform under pressure, as seen in their 25:23 win over Norway. With goalkeeper Frederik Møller Wolff saving in his recognisable style, and Magnus Storgaard Pedersen leading the attack, Denmark are true contenders.

Sweden are no strangers to this stage either. This is their 12th appearance in the semi-finals, and while they have reached six finals before, they have been stopped at this point five times. Their last medal came in 2013 when they won in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and after finishing 12th in 2023, this team is chasing new heights. Axel Mansson remains the leader in attack — 49 goals scored in six games puts him in fourth position among the top scorers.

This generation already knows each other well. Sweden beat Denmark twice in the past two years — 32:29 at the M18 EHF EURO and 30:29 in the M20 EHF EURO main round, both times with Axel Mansson scoring 10, so there is no doubt this clash will be a tight one too.