Hosts Egypt recorded a double-digits win in their maiden match at the 2025 IHF Men’s Youth World Championship, 46:27, against the Republic of Korea, while France and Spain each secured wins by 30 goals or more against France and Algeria respectively.

Group B
Switzerland vs Kosovo 35:25 (16:13)

Switzerland opened their Egypt 2025 campaign with a solid victory, turning a closely contested first half into a commanding win over Kosovo.

Switzerland started well, taking advantage of early mistakes from Kosovo to build a 5:3 lead, spearheaded by Andrin Dörwaldt. However, Kosovo’s goalkeeper Olt Kabashi made four crucial saves in the opening ten minutes, shifting momentum and helping Kosovo first level at 6:6 and then take their first lead from the seven-metre line.

This sparked Switzerland to regroup and adjust their defensive strategy, which paid off as they regained the advantage. Both teams exchanged leads and remained locked in a tight battle until the 25th minute. Kosovo stayed competitive largely due to Kabashi's saves, as turnovers hampered their attacking rhythm.

On the Swiss side, Niclas Mierzwa and Moritz Heinl were particularly effective in the first half, helping Switzerland increase the tempo in the closing minutes and securing a three-goal lead at halftime.

In the second half, Switzerland’s experience came to the fore as they gradually imposed their style of play, building a comfortable six-goal lead with Manoy Ugigabe scoring his fourth goal of the match. Gwendal Dussey also stepped up significantly with key saves, preventing Kosovo from closing the gap.

Switzerland’s biggest lead was eight goals (30:22), at which point Kosovo appeared to lose momentum. Despite Kosovo’s last timeout in the 55th minute aimed at sparking a final push, their slow attack failed to halt Switzerland’s dominance. The match ended with Switzerland claiming a convincing 35:25 victory.

Switzerland now look to maintain their momentum when they face Tunisia on Friday, while Kosovo will face another tough challenge against Hungary.

Player of the Match: Niclas Mierzwa (Switzerland)

Group C
Spain vs Algeria: 49:19 (26:9)

Spain, the defending champions from the previous IHF Men's Youth World Championship held in Croatia in 2023, made a strong start to their title defense by overpowering Algeria, the only non-European team in Group C.

Surprisingly, Algeria took an early lead, thanks to a series of goals from Selim Berrou, giving them a 6-2 advantage by the seventh minute. Spain called a timeout to regroup and regain their rhythm, embarking on a 4-0 run to level the score.

Once Spain gained momentum, they became unstoppable. A 6-0 run pushed the score to 13-7, and they closed the first half with an impressive 10-0 streak. Spanish goalkeeper Nicolás Giráldez was key during this phase, boasting a 50% save rate in the first half.

Spain went into halftime with a commanding 17-goal lead, making the outcome clear. After the break, they extended their dominance. Substitute goalkeeper David Failde also made an impact, achieving a 52% save rate. Remarkably, 14 Spanish players scored at least once, with Guido Bayo standing out by converting all nine of his shots.

In the end, Spain cruised to an emphatic 30-goal victory. They will face Croatia in their second match on Thursday, while Algeria will look to improve against Serbia on the same day.

Player of the Match: Sergio Sanchez (Spain)

Group F
France vs Mexico 48:12 (24:2)

The most lopsided win in the first day of the 2025 IHF Men’s Youth World Championship was registered by France, which had a mind-boggling 15:0 lead after 17 minutes in the match against Mexico, taking advantage of the North American team’s woes in their third appearance in the competition.

Having finished on the last place, 24th, in 2017, and 30th in 2023, Mexico had a mountain to climb against a traditional powerhouse of handball, France, former world champions at this level in 2015 and 2017, and it was clear from the beginning that the gulf between the two sides is insurmontable.

The numbers were not lying: France had an 86% attacking efficiency, as opposed to Mexico’s 9% in the first half. And despite turning the ball over six times, France still opened a 22-goal lead at the break, 24:2, as goalkeeper Timothé Riss stopped 11 shots for an 86% saving efficiency.

Mexico scored first after 18 minutes and 10 seconds, with their second goal coming in the 23rd minute, as France continued to increase their lead, with Mathis Barelle, the Player of the Match, firing from all cylinders, finishing the match with 12 goals.

While Mexico did improve after the break and managed to get into double digits, France had all but one of their outfield players score at least one goal, with Barelle being joined by Alexandre Baradat with seven goals and Léo Gendronneau with five goals, to jump to a clear 48:12 win, the clearest so far at Egypt 2025.

Player of the Match: Mathis Barelle (France)

Group G
Egypt vs Republic of Korea 46:27 (22:13)

Hosting the IHF Men’s Youth World Championship for the first time, Egypt aimed high in a competition where they won the title in 2019, but received a heavy blow just days before the throw off, with coach Tarek Mahrous being replaced by Zamalek SC’s Spanish coach, Fernando Barbeito, due to health problems.

Yet that did not deter the African side in their debut against the Republic of Korea, despite a strong start from the Asian team, which were the runners-up in the 2024 AHF Asian Men’s Handball Championship.

But it was not all plain sailing from the get go, with the Republic of Korea clearly forcing Egypt to rethink part of their plan, after taking a 2:1 lead. Egypt’s attack was somewhat flumoxxed by Korea’s aggressive 4-2 defence, which put more pressure on their backs, but in the end, the African champions bounced back easily.

A 5:1 run was enough for Egypt to open a three-goal lead, 6:3, only for Korea to come back, after some exquisite saves from goalkeeper Uiseok Hong, who finished the first half with nine saves. But the main difference was in the attack, where Egypt had a 62% attacking efficiency, 10 percentage points higher than Korea.

Surprisingly, Egypt had 10 less turnovers than their opponents in the first half, as their depth was enough to see them finish the half with a 10:3 run, with all but three of their outfield players scoring at least one goal, lifting their side to a 22:13 lead at the break. That trend continued int he second half, as Egypt's attack took advantage of the collapsing defence of the Republic of Korea.

Scoring from all areas on the court, Egypt had unanswered runs of 6:0 and 5:0, jumping to a maximum lead of 19 goals, 42:23, with eight minutes to go in the match, fueling their credentials for a medal in their home competition. With 12 goals scored via fast breaks, a testament to their excellent goalkeeping department too, which had 19 saves for a 41% saving efficiency, the African powerhouse ended the match with a 46:27 win, with a big step towards the main round.

Player of the Match: Omar Baraka (Egypt)