Japan made it two out of two at Egypt 2025, with a dominating performance against Asian rivals Republic of Korea, 34:32 while Serbia also secured their second consecutive win, 32:22, against Algeria, as both sides edged closer to a main round spot.

Group C  
Algeria vs Serbia 22:32 (8:14)

After narrowly defeating Croatia on Wednesday, Serbia notched a second consecutive win—this time by a commanding margin over Algeria. If Spain can earn at least a point against Croatia later today, Serbia will secure a place in the main round.

The early stages of the match were challenging for Serbia, who struggled to find the net and didn’t score their first goal until nearly eight minutes in. Mohammed Kadem had given Algeria a 1:0 lead in the second minute, and both teams remained scoreless for several minutes thereafter.

Algerian goalkeeper Zine Eddine Djemadi made several early saves to keep his team in contention, and the game remained balanced, with the score tied at 7:7 in the 23rd minute. However, Serbia finished the half strongly, propelled by goals from Andrija Stankov and Ognjen Cenic, launching a decisive 7:1 run to open up a comfortable lead at halftime.

Serbia maintained their momentum after the break, quickly extending their advantage. Ognjen Cenic led the charge, and a 3:0 run saw Serbia take a double-digit lead (22:12) just ten minutes into the second half, effectively ending Algeria’s chances of a comeback.

With the result no longer in doubt, Serbia eased off slightly in the closing minutes, but Algeria were unable to make significant inroads—the Serbians preserved their 10-goal cushion until the final whistle. Player of the Match Ognjen Cenic shone, finishing as top scorer with nine goals as Serbia comfortably clinched victory.

Player of the Match: Ognjen Cenic (Serbia)

GROUP G
Japan vs Republic of Korea 34:32 (16:11)

One year ago, in September 2024, Japan clinched a 26:24 win in the final of the 2024 AHF Asian Men's Youth Handball Championship against the Republic of Korea to secure their maiden title in the category.

The improvement made by Japan over the last years have been impressive, with the Asian side finishing eighth and ninth at the IHF Men’s Youth World Championship in 2017 and 2019 and they would have made a big step towards the final, provided they won against their continental rivals once again here, in Cairo, at Egypt 2025.

And for the first six minutes, Japan surely looked up to play the part, opening the match with a 4:0 salvo, with Koki Ishikara scoring twice. That run prompted a team time-out from the Republic of Korea, which slowly managed to pull back and improve their defence, playing an aggressive 3-3 system.

That meant that Japan needed to rethink their approach and as Yeongu Choi scored six goals in the first half, the Republic of Korea put together a 5:0 run to wrestle back the lead and be in front for the first time, 10:8, after 20 minutes.

However, the last 10 minutes of the first half were all Japan, with goalkeeper Kodai Yasumizu making six crucial saves, including five one-on-ones, ushering back his team in the match, angling for a 5:0 unanswered run.

Basically, Japan scored as many goals in the last 10 minutes of the first half as they did in the first 20, and with an 8:1 run to end the half boasted a five-goal lead at the break, looking as comfortable as ever.

There was no question about the winner in the second half, where the Republic of Korea could only really manage to stay close for the first 10 minutes, when they cut Japan’s lead to only two goals.

But the Asian champions had an overall better shooting efficiency (67% to 62%), a better goalkeeping efficiency (30% to 23%) and nine turnovers less than Korea, to jump to a 34:32 win, where Kaisei Akiyoshi and Sora Furusawa combined for 13 goals, while centre back Masato Ohashi had four goals and three assists.

With their second win in as many matches, Japan edged closer to a main round berth, which will be sealed provided Egypt beat Bahrain in the last match of the second day at the 2025 IHF Men’s Youth World Championship, while the Republic of Korea have their work cut out after their second consecutive loss.

Player of the Match: Kodai Yasumizu (Japan)