Serbia secured their second-highest ranking at the IHF Men’s Junior World Championship when they defeated Iceland in the 13/14 placement match on Thursday 25 July in Vigo. Their best finish was 10th place in 2013, and now, on their fourth participation overall, they take 13th. 

For Iceland, the 14th-place finish is unfortunately the lowest ranking in their history at the competition.  

13/14 PLACEMENT MATCH
Iceland vs Serbia 22:24 (9:16)

It was a largely one-sided game that secured Serbia 13th place on the final ranking at Spain 2019 – and that may have been foreseen considering the results in the eighth-finals. Iceland suffered the most decisive loss of any team in the first knock-out round on Wednesday, 16:29 to Croatia. Serbia were defeated by just one goal to Egypt in the final seconds. 

The last lead for Iceland in the match against Serbia was the 2:1 in the fourth minute. Once Serbia took the advantage, Iceland kept in touch only until the end of the first quarter – and then Serbia began to pull further in front. They hit double digits at 10:5 in the 20th minute, and when the score stood at 16:9 at the break the match was all but decided. 

Iceland worked hard to reduce the deficit in the second period, but Serbia maintained a comfortable cushion. With 10 minutes remaining, Serbia held Iceland to still less than 15 goals, at 14:22. Iceland defended well in their 6-0 formation and Serbia were often forced into passive play situations. 

Once they entered the final 10 minutes with such an advantage (22:14), Serbia seemed to lose some of their motivation, and Iceland had a much stronger finish to the game, outscoring their opponents 8:2 in that period. The ending almost cost Serbia the victory, as Iceland came as close as two goals, but they held on to finish with the win. 

Player of the match: Boris Radivojevic, Serbia