Serbia stopped a mighty Croatia comeback to seal a win against their neighbours in their opener at the 2025 IHF Men’s Youth World Championship, 26:25. Another one-goal win was sealed by Norway, which secured a 29:28 win against Argentina, needing a last-gasp save from their goalkeeper.
Hungary opened their account at Egypt 2025 in style, with a 45:20 win over Morocco, while Japan prevailed in the Asian derby against Bahrain, 32:30.

Group B  
Hungary vs Morocco 45:20 (23:11)
 
Hungary delivered a dominant performance in their opening match of the 11th IHF Men's Youth World Championship, outclassing Morocco with a commanding display from start to finish.  

Hungary had a blistering start, racing to a 5:0 lead while keeping Morocco goalless for the first seven minutes. Ragueb El Hassan finally broke the drought for Morocco, but it took several more minutes for them to find their second goal.  

In the meantime, Hungary continued to press their advantage, adding to their lead with another burst of unanswered goals. The match quickly tilted in their favor, and it became clear it would be a one-sided affair. By the 20th minute, Hungary led 19:6. Despite a few solid saves from Moroccan goalkeeper Jalil El Mouadar, turnovers plagued the African side, who committed 14 by halftime.  

The second half brought more of the same. Although Hungary's defense and goalkeeping dipped slightly, Morocco remained ineffective in attack and continued to make mistakes, enabling fast breaks that widened the gap. Ten minutes from the end, Hungary led by 20 goals at 38:18.  

In the final minutes, the gap grew further. Morocco ended the game with 25 turnovers — a number that made any other outcome impossible. As the only non-European team in Group B, Morocco faces a tough road ahead and will next meet Switzerland, while Hungary will aim to extend their strong start against Kosovo.  

Player of the Match: Máté Gáncs-Pető (Hungary)

Group C  
Serbia vs Croatia 26:25 (14:8)  

In a thrilling Balkan derby, Serbia edged past Croatia in a tightly contested match, claiming two crucial points despite a late Croatian comeback.  

Croatia, a team with a strong pedigree in the IHF Men's Youth World Championship—boasting five medals in nine prior editions—were dealt an early blow. Serbia opened strong, quickly jumping to a 4:0 lead before Jakov Begić finally got Croatia on the scoreboard in the eighth minute.  

However, Croatia struggled in attack for most of the first half, managing only five goals until the 28th minute. A string of missed chances and turnovers were ruthlessly punished by the efficient Serbian side. Ognjen Cenić was particularly impactful, scoring seven of Serbia's 14 goals before halftime, while goalkeeper David Tot Meljkuti stood tall with a 47% save rate.  

Towards the end of the first half, Croatia began to show signs of improvement, scoring three goals in as many minutes. Their attack, boosted to 42% efficiency by the break, gave them a glimmer of hope heading into the second half.  

Despite this, Serbia maintained control after the restart, with right back Uroš Stanković stepping up to extend their lead. By the 40th minute, the score stood at 20:12, leaving Croatia facing an uphill battle.  

But they weren't done yet. Croatian left back Josip Tomić—later named Player of the Match—sparked a comeback with four goals in a ten-minute stretch. Energized, Croatia chipped away at the deficit, closing the gap to 20:22 by the 53rd minute.  

As Serbia began to lose focus, Croatia continued their surge. With just 23 seconds left, Ante Lasan brought his team within one goal at 26:25. However, Serbia held firm in the final moments to seal a hard-fought win—one that could prove critical in the race for main round qualification.  

Player of the Match: Josip Tomić (Croatia)

Group F  
Norway vs Argentina 29:28 (14:14)  

Norway began their campaign with a narrow but significant victory over a determined Argentina side in a thrilling match that came down to the final seconds.  

The match started nervously for Norway, who looked off rhythm while Argentina capitalized with an early 4:1 lead. Centre back Bautista Torossian was instrumental for Argentina, scoring five goals early and guiding the team during a strong opening stretch. Norway struggled for most of the first half, trailing and failing to disrupt Argentina's quick passing and composed attacking play.  

A turning point came in the last five minutes of the first half, when Norway fought back to reduce a five-goal deficit to just two. Emil Rommetveit made a crucial save from the seven-metre line, helping Norway regain momentum. By halftime, the teams were even at 14:14, thanks in part to Velte Bore's impact.  

Norway carried that energy into the second half, scoring two quick goals to take the lead at 16:14. Although Argentina briefly leveled the score at 17:17, Norway held control for most of the half. With a 27:23 lead in the final stretch, it seemed Norway would comfortably close out the match.  

However, Argentina fought back with a late surge, led by Lionel Peruchena and Nicolas La Delfa, and managed to equalize at 27:27. The final minutes were tense, but Norway kept their cool. Alexander Loke Gautestad scored the decisive goal for 29:28, and goalkeeper Lukas Ueland made a crucial final save to seal the victory, despite finishing with just four saves overall.  

Player of the Match: Velte Bore (Norway)

Group G
Japan vs Bahrain 32:30 (14:14)

With three Asian teams in Group G at the 2025 IHF Men’s Youth World Championship, plus hosts Egypt, it was always going to be a well-balanced group, with derbies between the Asian teams trying to get their spot in the main round.

One of the crucial encounters of this group was the opener between Japan and Bahrain and, sure enough, it provided to be an exciting battle, despite Japan being favoured due to winning the 2024 AHF Asian Men's Youth Handball Championship, where Bahrain finished fifth.

But that gap was nowhere to be seen in the openining minutes, when the two teams traded blows, before Japan went on a 5:1 run to open an 8:5 lead, thanks to a pair of goals from Sora Furusawa. 

The MVP of the 2024 AHF Asian Men's Youth Handball Championship, centre back Masato Ohashi, was also on high alert for the Japanese side, but Bahrain countered with an excellent outing from goalkeeper Haidar Salman, who finished the first half with nine saves.

Therefore, a 3:0 Bahraini run tied the score, 11:11, with the two teams going nail-to-nail until the closing moments of the match. A stronger start in the second half saw Bahrain edge the lead again, 15:16, after 31 minutes, but Japan were never going to back down and their goalkeeper, Toshiya Obata, started racking up saves.

As Bahrain’s 5-1 defensive approach morphed into a 6-0, due to energy reserves being lower, Japan used a 4:1 run, spurred by Furusawa, to open their maiden two-goal lead in the second half, 24:22, with 13 minutes to go, but Bahrain never backed down.

However, their undoing was the sheer number of turnovers – 20 – throughout the match, as opposed to Japan’s four, even if Japan had a lower attacking efficiency, 56%, compared to Bahrain’s 67%.

Eventually, Japan’s attack did its job and propelled the side to a win, as the five-goal lead built by the Asian champions was enough to secure a 32:30 win, helping Japan edge closer to the main round.

Player of the Match: Chikaya Ishikara (Japan)