Algeria will feature at the IHF Men's Youth World Championship only for the fifth time in history, but their performances have been far from what they expected prior to the competitions, ending up on the 14th place in 2007 and 2009 and on the 23rd place in 2015 and 2017.

After a six-year hiatus, the African side will make their comeback in the world handball flagship competition, but their path to this moment has been difficult to say the least, as they snatched the last qualifying place for Croatia 2023 at the 2022 CAHB African Men's Youth Handball Championship.

Algeria finished on the third place in their group in the preliminary round in the continental competition after a painful loss against Egypt, 19:43, a win against Madagascar (42:19), and a draw against Rwanda (30:30), boasting an inferior goal difference compared to their opponents.

It meant that Algeria failed to make the semi-finals and went to the Placement Match 5/6, where they clearly dominated Uganda (44:31) to snatch their fifth berth for the IHF Men's Youth World Championship, but without an experienced side, their chances will be slim to none as all their players are featuring in the domestic league.

At Croatia 2023, Algeria were drawn into Group A, alongside hosts Croatia and another European powerhouse in Portugal, where they will be big underdogs, but they also have a rematch against rivals Rwanda, where they can avenge the draw that kept them from playing in the semi-finals at the 2022 CAHB African Men's Youth Handball Championship.

Key players: Boukhari Abdelmalek (left back), Hamdaoui Salah Eddine (centre back), Saidi Mohamed Nazim (centre back)
Qualification for Croatia 2023: 2022 CAHB African Men's Youth Handball Championship – 5th place
History in the tournament: 2007: 14th, 2009: 14th, 2015: 23rd, 2017: 23rd 
Group at Croatia 2023: Group A (Portugal, Croatia, Rwanda, Algeria)