Down two goals in the last quarter of the match, reigning champions Germany bounced back to take a 30:29 win against Serbia in their opener at Poland 2025, while hosts Poland opened their account with a 39:16 win over Uruguay. France, Japan and Switzerland also started the competition victorious.



GROUP A
Poland vs Uruguay 39:16 (19:8)

Hosts Poland entered their match against Uruguay as strong favourites — and they fully lived up to expectations, delivering a commanding victory to go top of Group A at the 2025 IHF Men's Junior World Championship.

Both teams started cautiously, with goals few and far between in the opening minutes. Goalkeepers Adam Witkowski (Poland) and Julián Pomi (Uruguay) showed quality early on, and Poland led just 2:1 after eight minutes. However, once the home side found their rhythm, the game quickly became one-sided.

Uruguay struggled to break through Poland’s well-organised defence, while the Europeans converted their chances with ease. By the 18th minute, Poland had surged ahead to a 10:1 lead.

The gap in quality was clear, and it was reflected on the scoreboard. Witkowski finished the first half with a near-50% save rate, and Poland went into the break with a commanding 11-goal advantage, leaving Uruguay with little hope for a comeback.

Poland continued to dominate in the second half. Jakub Wysocki replaced Witkowski in goal and maintained a 50% save efficiency. All 14 of Poland’s outfield players got on the scoresheet as head coach Zygmunt Kamys rotated the squad. Jakub Wielgucki led the way with six goals and was named Player of the Match.

Following this emphatic win, Poland sit atop Group A with two points. They will face Slovenia on Friday, while last-placed Uruguay prepare to meet Norway on the same day.

Player of the Match: Jakub Wielgucki (Poland)

GROUP C
Japan vs United States of America 41:33 (20:10)

The United States struggled with a familiar issue seen in previous editions — a slow start and difficulty settling into the rhythm of the game. They managed just three goals in the opening 12 minutes, with Csaba Darvas emerging as their most effective attacking option early on.

Japan capitalized on their trademark fast-paced style to build a 7:3 lead. However, signs of early nerves were visible, as they missed several opportunities to extend the gap further. This allowed the USA to find a few easy goals from the seven-metre line, benefiting from Japan’s aggressive defensive approach.

Still, the reigning Asian champions soon took full control. A 7:0 unanswered run gave Japan a commanding ten-goal lead at 18:8, with three of those goals coming from Player of the Match Koshiro Hori. A tactical gamble by the USA — playing without a goalkeeper — backfired, as Japan punished them with precision shots into the empty net.

Japan maintained their lead throughout the second half, while the Americans showed more composure and energy to prevent the deficit from growing even wider. Though the gap never closed significantly, the USA demonstrated improved stability after the break.

Maksim McCauley and Oskar Trummer stood out with confident performances, scoring consistently and helping the USA reach 33 goals — their highest tally ever at an IHF Men’s Junior World Championship. Their previous record was 31 goals, set in 2019 during a 31:18 win over Australia in the President’s Cup (placement matches 21–24). Despite the loss, the scoring milestone represents a positive step in the team’s development on the international stage.

On Japan’s side, 14 of their 16 players found the net, including goalkeeper Ryo Komoda. The team’s top scorer was Kippei Furukawa, who led the offensive charge alongside Hori.

Looking ahead to Friday, Japan will aim to continue their winning form against Korea, while the United States will take on a strong Swedish side.

Player of the Match: Koshiro Hori (Japan)



GROUP E
France vs Mexico 46:17 (23:8)

Making a debut at the IHF Men’s Junior World Championship is never easy. Making one’s debut against a powerhouse like France is even tougher, but Mexico’s experience at Poland 2025 will still be one to learn from.

With only one player featuring at a club outside Mexico, it took nine minutes and 51 seconds for the North American team to score their first goal. By that time, France were already up 6:0, showing they mean business, irrespective of the opponent they faced.

Another 6:0 run saw the European side open a 11-goal lead, 12:1, after 16 minutes, with France boasting a fantastic 90% shooting efficiency, with their fast breaks being the most efficient weapon against a Mexico side which turned the ball over too many times.

While Mexico did improve until the end of the first half, scoring eight goals, France were already up by 15 goals at that point, with Naël Tighiouart running the show, as he had 10 goals at the end of the match.

The European side pulled no punches until the end of the match, continuing to dominate, with all but one of their outfield players failing to score at least one goal, with the gap growing bigger and bigger in the second half.

Eventually, France secured a 46:17 win against Mexico, and will be looking now to the next matches against Morocco and Denmark, with full confidence ahead. On the other hand, Mexico conceded a huge loss in their debut, but still can enjoy a surely difficult debut.

Player of the Match: Naël Tighiouart (France)

GROUP G
Tunisia vs Switzerland 31:41 (17:21)

In a high-scoring and entertaining clash, Tunisia — the African junior runners-up — faced off against a Swiss side returning to the IHF Men's Junior World Championship after a 12-year absence. Despite a competitive start, Switzerland gradually took control and secured a convincing 41:31 victory.

Both teams opened with strong defensive efforts, keeping the nets untouched for nearly three minutes. Tunisia’s left back Kousay Ben Fraj led the early charge, pushing for a breakthrough. Tunisia briefly held a two-goal advantage on two occasions, but they were unable to build on it.

Swiss goalkeeper Mathieu Seravalli made several crucial saves, preventing Tunisia from extending their lead and helping to shift the momentum in Switzerland’s favour. His performance proved pivotal as the Swiss side equalized and then took the lead in the 13th minute — a lead they would not relinquish.

Switzerland’s biggest advantage in the first half was five goals. To maintain a comfortable cushion, Luca Sigrist capped the period with a clean strike from a free throw, sending Switzerland into the break ahead 21:17.

The Swiss continued their strong form in the second half, opening with two quick goals to further extend their lead. Tunisia tried to respond through Najib Hadded, Slim Brahem, and the ever-reliable Kousay Ben Fraj, but they struggled to find answers on the defensive end.

As the second half progressed, Switzerland tightened their grip on the match. With just under 10 minutes remaining, they had built a 29:22 advantage. By the 56th minute, the gap had widened to 38:30, and they ultimately secured a ten-goal victory at 41:31.

Nikos Sarlos and Player of the Match Luca Sigrist combined for 19 goals for Switzerland, while Kousay Ben Fraj was a standout for Tunisia, scoring 12 times.

There’s no rest for either side, with both teams back in action on Thursday. Tunisia will face Serbia, while Switzerland will take on Germany in what promises to be a challenging matchup.

Player of the Match: Luca Sigrist (Switzerland)

GROUP G
Germany vs Serbia 30:29 (14:12)

The luck of the draw missed reigning champions Germany entirely, as they had to compete in Group G, one of the most balanced of the competition, facing a hugely talented Serbia side, and two plucky teams in Switzerland and Tunisia, which could always spring a surprise or two.

The debut for this Germany generation came against Serbia, a team which was battle tested even at the senior level, with plenty of these players, as well as coach Dalibor Cutura, having featured for the senior Serbia side during the friendly Carpathian Trophy before the start of the 2025 IHF Men’s World Championship.

Therefore, with that experience, they knew what they had to do and delivered a strong outing in the first half against Germany, even taking the lead after 20 minutes, 8:7, with the two teams trading blows throughout the first 30 minutes. But then, Germany goalkeeper Marc Julian Buchele, who finished the first half with eight saves, closed the posts, enabling his team to deliver a great finish.

Germany, led by line player Jan Schmidt, finished the first half with a 6:2 run, to take a 14:12 lead in the second part of the match, but there was still plenty to fight for, despite Serbia losing Nikola Bekic midway of the first half to a red card, after a push over Linus Kutz during a fast break.

Germany were looking firmly in control in the second half, especially as two consecutive goals from Anton Preußner saw the reigning champions take a commanding 20:17 lead with 23 minutes to go. But then, Serbia went and built a 9:4 run to turn the match on its head again and take a 26:24 lead, with right back Uros Mitrović registering seven goals until the 50th minute.

Eventually, Serbia’s physical prowess started to diminish more and more and Germany never went down, despite the rhythm slowing down in the last five minutes. The reigning champions led by two goals, 29:27, with five minutes to go, but managed to score only once in that timespan, enough to clinch a 30:29 win, much to the disappointment of Serbia.

Player of the Match: Nikola Zoric (Serbia)