After the first three editions of the IHF Men's Youth World Championship, where they ended up on the 10th place in 2005, the 15th place in 2007 and the 20th place in 2009, Morocco failed to make it to the world handball flagship competition, constantly disappointing in their continental qualifiers.

However, this time around, after a 14-year hiatus, the African side will be back between the top teams in the world, having made it to Croatia 2023, after a nearly-flawless performance at the 2022 CAHB African Men's Youth Handball Championship.

In fact, Morocco could have made it to the final, after starting the competition with three wins in a row in the preliminary round, but failed to secure another win against Rwanda in the semi-finals, dropping the game (34:35) before bouncing back in the bronze medal game against Burundi (41:34).

Morocco still had the second best defence in the competition, which will be heavily tested, though, at Croatia 2023, with the African side eyeing to clinch a better finish than the last one, 20th, in 2009, yet that means a least a win in the preliminary round, where they face Hungary, Slovenia and New Zealand.

Clearly, Morocco will be underdogs against the European sides, due to their lack of experience, with only a handful of players featuring in French academies, but will surely aim to clinch a win against New Zealand.

Key players: Hamza Ouafik (centre back), Abdellah Razgui (left back), Amine Bilghoul (line player)
Qualification for Croatia 2023: 2022 CAHB African Men's Youth Handball Championship – 3rd place
History in the tournament: 2005: 10th, 2007: 15th, 2009: 20th
Group at Croatia 2023: Group B (Hungary, Slovenia, Morocco, New Zealand)