The U21 German national team set an example by winning the IHF Men’s Junior (U21) World Championship in their home country at the beginning of July. At Croatia 2023, the U19 national team from head coach Emir Kurtagic has the chance to achieve the same and lift the trophy. Four years ago, the German U19 national team was close to that goal but lost the final to Egypt.

At the Men’s 18 EHF EURO 2022 in Montenegro, the German squad added another medal to their tally, securing a 29:22 win against Hungary in the bronze medal match. In September 2022, Emir Kurtagic took over the team. After having been a club coach for more than ten years, this is his first station as a youth national coach. Since then, the team has continued to fly high.

They defended their title at the Merzig Cup in December last year, winning all their five matches and the final against Iceland after a shoot-out. This success was followed by a flawless performance at the Airport Trophy tournament. For the first time since 2017, this competition was won by a German youth national team. Kurtagic’s team won all its matches against Poland, Montenegro and Switzerland. 

The Men’s 18 EHF EURO 2022 All-star left wing David Móré, who plays for the German club Rhein-Neckar Löwen, will miss the world championship due to injury. This is also the case for Henri Pabst from THW Kiel, the right back broke his foot in the last test game and will be out for several months.

At Croatia 2023, Germany are the only European team in Group G. They will meet the 2022 South and Central American Men’s Youth Handball Championship winners Argentina as well as the Asian team Saudi Arabia, who qualified for the second time, and the newcomers from the United States of America.

Key players: Max Günther (right wing), Julian Buchele (goalkeeper), Fritz-Leon Haake (centre back)

Qualification for Croatia 2023: Men’s 18 EHF EURO 2022 – 3rd

History in tournament: 2009: 7th, 2011: 7th, 2013: 3rd, 2015: 17th, 2017: 9th, 2019: 2nd 

Group at Croatia 2023: Group G (Germany, Saudi Arabia, Argentina, United States of America)