Round five for Group A at the 2019 IHF Men’s Junior World Championship continued with Tunisia securing a decisive win over Serbia, which took their points tally to six points and clinched them third place on the table. Serbia finish fourth following two victories, and will proceed to the eighth-finals alongside Tunisia. 

GROUP A
Serbia vs Tunisia 23:29 (14:17) 

After a shaky opening that saw Serbia take a narrow edge early in the game, Tunisia recovered and finished their preliminary round campaign with a seven-goal win that earned them third position in the group. 

Through the first 21 minutes, 10:11, it was a level contest. Serbia had a narrow lead in the opening before Tunisia took the upper hand and held steady in front by one to two goals. But once the clock hit 24 minutes the contest essentially ended, as Tunisia opened a three-goal lead and Serbia only found themselves falling further behind. 

Tunisia were led in attack by eight goals from Mohamed Aziz Aidi, while their keeper Fradj Ben Tekaya was the strongest between the posts, with nine saves at 30%. 

With a score line of three at half-time Serbia were still well in the game, however, any hope they had of levelling the game was quickly destroyed by Tunisia when the match resumed. By the 40th minute, the African team had hit a five-goal advantage at 21:16, and as the last 10 minutes began, the task was clearly impossible for Serbia, who trailed by nine goals, 17:26. 

To their credit, Serbia fought to the buzzer and decreased the distance, but Tunisia’s cushion was too significant for the European team to overcome. 

Player of the match: Mohamed Aziz Aidi, Tunisia