After 13 years of absence, the Islamic Republic of Iran return to the IHF Men’s Youth (U19) World Championship. This will be their fourth appearance on the world stage. They took part in the first three tournaments of this competition with good rankings between eight and twelve. 

At the 2022 Asian Men’s Youth Handball Championship in Bahrain, the team of head coach Rahimizadeh Majid was on fire and was almost unstoppable until the final. They opened the Asian Championship with a loss against the Republic of Korea. After being defeated, they showed no mercy, winning with 40 goals against India, followed by an eleven-goal victory over Uzbekistan. The last group match against Bahrain was a real nail-biter. Only 20 seconds before the final whistle, Bahrain equalised at 29:29. It was left back Amir Karami who lifted his team to win the match with his buzzer-beater goal. 

The semi-final against Saudi Arabia was even more thrilling. The match went on double extra time and again Amir Karami played a very important role for his team. He was not only the one who equalised in the regular playing time, but he also scored the decisive goal which sent the Islamic Republic of Iran straight into the final. 

There, they met once more their opponents from the opening match, the Republic of Korea. They proved too strong for Majid’s team and eventually they won the silver medal and qualified for the IHF Men’s Youth (U19) World Championship. 

It will be interesting to see if the Asian team can cause an upset in their group. They will face the Men’s 18 EHF EURO 2022 runners-up Sweden as well as the two newcomers from the Faroe Islands and the African team Burundi. 

Key players: Amir Karami (left back), Ali Heidarian (left wing)

Qualification for Croatia 2023: 2022 Asian Men’s Youth Handball Championship – 2nd

History in tournament: 2005: 8th, 2007: 12th, 2009: 10th

Group at Croatia 2023: Group H (Sweden, Islamic Republic of Iran, Faroe Islands, Burundi)