Slovenia progressed to the main round of the 2025 IHF Men's Junior World Championship, securing their second consecutive win, 37:19, against Uruguay, while Morocco and the Republic of Korea clinched their maiden wins of the competition, 38:23 against Mexico and 35:33 against the United States of America respectively.

Group A
Slovenia vs Uruguay 37:19 (19:13)

With a tally of three points after two matches, Slovenia needed a victory against last-placed Uruguay to book their main round ticket. The European side, heavily favoured to win their last Group A encounter, did what was expected of them to secure progression.

Uruguay, who had scored just 33 goals combined in their two previous games, seemed to improve their attacking performance in the opening half, which allowed them to challenge their rivals. Eight minutes into the match, the sides were tied at 4:4, and although Slovenia were dominant afterwards, the South American team kept them in check—particularly thanks to Rodrigo Mendez, who scored five goals before the break.

However, Uruguay's goalkeeping duo struggled, combining for just one save in 30 minutes. Their Slovene colleague Jan Češek did not shine either, but had more impact, as his five saves helped the European side create a six-goal advantage at half-time.

Češek was replaced by Mark Šalamon in the second half—and he quickly started to show his impact, helping Slovenia further extend their advantage. At the same time, his teammate Aljuš Anžič led by example in attack, and his goals saw the Europeans create a double-digit lead, 27:17, in the 42nd minute.

Slovenia did not stop there, showing no signs of fading despite heavily rotating their squad. Twelve of their thirteen outfield players found their names on the scoresheet, with Anžič—who was named Player of the Match—netting eight times.

In contrast, Uruguay's attacking performance significantly dropped in the second half, as Mark Šalamon's 60% saving rate stopped the South Americans from hitting the 20-goal mark for the first time at Poland 2025. Now Uruguay, who have lost all three games in Group A, will try to get some points in the President's Cup.

Player of the Match: Aljuš Anžič (Slovenia)

Group C
Republic of Korea vs United States 35:33 (19:11)

As runners-up at the 2024 Asian Men's Junior Handball Championship, Korea entered the match against the United States as favourites, and they proved why on the court. But things didn’t go smoothly from the start. The United States made a confident start to the game, even briefly holding the lead in the opening minutes.

However, Korea quickly regrouped and began building momentum, eventually pulling ahead 19:11 by halftime. Two names stood out—and both were Hyeonmin Kim. Between the posts, Hyeonmin Kim delivered a series of key saves, finishing the first half with seven stops from 16 shots.

At the other end, line player Hyeonmin Kim added five valuable goals to push Korea forward. With the score at 10:7, Korea went on a 4:1 run to create distance, then closed the half with a 5:0 burst that gave them a comfortable eight-goal cushion at the break.

Korea picked up right where they left off, occasionally switching defensive formations but remaining in full control on the court. Just a few minutes into the second half, they hit their first double-digit (22:12) lead of the match. The USA tried to disrupt Korea's rhythm by switching to a 5-1 defence, aiming to mount a comeback.

There were moments where the pressure paid off, but the lack of experience pushed the teams into turnovers which their opponents, luckily for them, did not punish. Still, Korea slightly eased off and it all led to the USA managing to reduce the gap to 26:31 later on, and with an additional late 4:1 run, they managed to cut the gap from five down to just two.

Simon Neumaier and Benjamin Edwards were the top scorers for the USA with nine and eight goals, respectively. For Korea, Hyeonmin Kim and Minjun Lee both finished with five.

Both teams now continue their journey at Poland 2025 in the President’s Cup Group II, in Sosnowiec, alongside Algeria and Canada, but Korea, just like Algeria, are starting with two points—a valuable boost as they aim to stay in the battle for places 17 to 20. Korea have never finished higher than 19th in the history of the IHF Men's Junior World Championship.

Player of the Match: Hyeonmin Kim (Republic of Korea)

Group E
Morocco vs Mexico 38:23 (19:9)

For 40 minutes, Morocco looked competitive against both Denmark and France, but eventually lost those matches by 12 and seven goals respectively. Yet that meant that against Mexico, the team which conceded 94 goals in the first two matches against the European powerhouses, Morocco would be favoured.
And with two points on the line for the President’s Cup group phase, Morocco were not going to give anything away, producing yet once again a strong display, despite having only 14 players on the scoresheet, with two goalkeepers in the squad.

The Player of the Match from the previous encounter against France, left back Abdellah Razgui, as well as right back Amjad Saa, shined for Morocco, as they combined for 15 goals throughout the match, being rendered unstoppable at times by the Mexico defence.

A strong 5:1 start morphed into a 16:5 lead for the African side, which had a 5:0 run securing a double-digits lead, which they kept until the break, 19:9. While Mexico had their best outing in their maiden edition of the IHF Men’s Junior World Championship, and arguably their best half so far in the last 30 minutes, it was still not enough.

Mexico did not pass the 50% shooting efficiency mark, stopping at 46%, as 14 turnovers also hampered their efforts, but they managed to keep toe-to-toe with Morocco in the second half, as Osvaldo Maya Pedraza finished the match with seven goals.

Eventually, Morocco clinched a clear 38:23 win, as they will start the President’s Cup with two points, in a group where they face two other European teams – Iceland and North Macedonia, with Mexico starting with zero points.

Player of the Match: Abdellah Razgui (Morocco)