Spain recorded their second victory in as many matches to close round two for Group A at the 2019 IHF Men’s Junior World Championship. They faced a quality Tunisia side, who never allowed the 2017 Youth World Championship silver medal-winning squad to relax, but maintained the advantage throughout the game. 

GROUP A
Tunisia vs Spain 20:26 (8:15)

Spain scored three goals before Tunisia added their first, which proved an important factor in the win. Once Tunisia opened their scoring, they played on level footing with the home side, but the distance created in the first minutes stayed more or less the same for the remainder of the game. 

Spain’s 5-1 defence in the opening stages caused trouble for Tunisia’s strong back court, and it was supported by an outstanding start from goalkeeper Kilian Ramirez. After 10 minutes, the Spain keeper recorded a 60% save rate, and he stayed on 50% when Tunisia took the first time-out of the game as the first quarter came to a close. 

At the 15th minute, Spain’s top scorer in the match, Gonzalo Perez Arce, tallied three goals from three shots, and he went on to an impressive total of 10. Although Spain stayed in command in the 20th minute, they relied on only four scorers at that point – as did Tunisia. A 4:0 partial brought Tunisia within one goal at 8:9 in the 25th minute, but that was the narrowest score line in the game.  

That one-goal gap came after Tunisia kept Spain from scoring for seven minutes, but then it was the African team’s turn for a drought. Propelled by Ramirez’s saves and a series of counter attacks, Spain created the deciding advantage through the last five minutes of the first half. 

Tunisia worked hard to overcome the distance in the second period, but the seven-goal difference proved too much to come back from. There was always a chance however, as the African team closed the gap, with a 15:19 score as the last quarter began and 20:23 with four minutes on the clock. But with the final three goals of the game, Spain created a six-goal advantage before the buzzer signified the end to their first match in Vigo.  

Player of the match: Gonzalo Perez Arce, Spain