Draw for 2023 IHF Men’s Junior World Championship sees the last final played again in preliminary round

17 Jan. 2023

Draw for 2023 IHF Men’s Junior World Championship sees the last final played again in preliminary round

The draw for the 2023 IHF Men’s Junior World Championship, which will be held in Germany and Greece between 20 June and 2 July, took place on Tuesday, 17 January, in Katowice, Poland, in the margins of the 2023 IHF Men’s World Championship.

30 teams who are already qualified entered the draw, with an additional two sides – the representative of Oceania and the IHF Inter-Continental Trophy Winner – still to be decided.

The event will be the first edition of the IHF Men’s Junior World Championship with 32 teams at the start, the second in history to be co-hosted by two countries and the first one in four years as the previous edition, scheduled in 2021, was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Eight groups of four teams each were announced after the draw, with the host nations – Germany and Greece – having the prerogative to assign one team (including the organiser’s team) per group which had previously been assigned to a city, as per the Regulations of IHF Competitions.

After the draw was concluded with the help of former German international Sven-Sören Christophersen, several groups look interesting, with high-profile clashes highlighting the schedule for the 2023 IHF Men’s Junior World Championship.

Reigning champions France have been drawn in Group A alongside Poland, Croatia and USA, one of the most balanced groups, with the final of the 2019 IHF Men’s Junior World Championship, which pitted France against Croatia, being replayed in the preliminary round at Germany/Greece 2023.

Denmark, the most decorated side in the history of the competition with 11 medals, will be playing in Group E alongside Hungary, Argentina and Norway. At the same time, the reigning European champions at the M20 EHF EURO 2022, Spain, face the Faroe Islands, Japan and Angola.

The 24th IHF Men’s Junior World Championship will take place in four venues in Germany and Greece between 20 June and 2 July. Magdeburg and Hannover will host the preliminary round and main round groups in Germany, while Athens will be the venue where matches are played in Greece.

The final round and placement matches will take place in Germany’s capital Berlin between 28 June and 2 July.

Group A: France, Poland, Croatia, USA

Group B: Algeria, Germany, Tunisia, Libya

Group C: Portugal, Brazil, Kuwait, Costa Rica

Group D: Spain, Faroe Islands, Japan, Angola

Group E: Hungary, Denmark, Argentina, Norway

Group F: Sweden, Slovenia, Bahrain, IHF Inter-Continental Trophy Winner 

Group G: Serbia, Iceland, Chile, Morocco

Group H: Egypt, Greece, Cuba, Saudi Arabia