A second, successive IHF Men’s Youth Beach Handball World Championship appearance for Uruguay represents success for the South American nation which has found itself in the shadow of continental heavyweights Argentina and Brazil over the years.

And they will not have long to wait to play their continental neighbours – both teams, along with Senegal – are in their preliminary group at Tunisia 2025. It is also the second, successive time Argentina and Uruguay will meet in a world championship preliminary group – the Argentinean side beating Uruguay 2-0 at Greece 2022.

Uruguay qualified for Tunisia 2025 thanks to a third-placed finish at the 2024 South and Central American Handball Confederation (SCAHC) Youth (U17) Men’s and Women’s Beach Handball Championships held in Chile last December.

In the northern port city of Iquique, they won their first two games, against Peru (2-0, 18:11, 18:12) and hosts, Chile (2-1, 15:17, 24:16, SO 10:8), before losing clearly to eventual winners Argentina 0-2 (10:16, 12:17). 

An impressive performance against Brazil saw the game go to a shoot-out after the Brazilians had taken the first set 11:10 and then Uruguay fought back to take the second (17:14), but it was not to be with the shots, as the Uruguayans lost 8:6. They ended their campaign with bronze and a qualification spot following a 2-0 (16:10, 22:13) victory over Paraguay.

In Chile, Uruguay were led by senior men’s player legend Matias Andres Oholeguy Grub and he is joined in Tunisia by fellow national team player Santy Rodriguez on the bench. Both Grub and Rodriguez played for Uruguay at the 2024 IHF Men’s Beach Handball World Championship in China, where their team finished ninth, while Rodriguez was also part of the Paris 2024 IHF Beach Handball Showcase last year held on the fringes of the Olympic Games.

Their side in Hammamet is captained by Santiago Huertas, one of five Club Pontevedres players in the 14-man provisional squad. Both goalkeepers named are the most experienced, with Thiago Velazco sitting on 19 appearances to his name, backed up by 12 from Nicolas Llanes.

The coaching staff are keen for Tunisia to help with their objectives of consolidating a process of training young people in both athletic and human aspects, by fostering their passion for playing beach handball, while for Uruguayan Handball Federation (FUH) President, Gustavo Modernell, he is proud of seeing the hard work and sacrifice from players, coaches and staff alike to get the team over to Tunisia and competing for glory – and a possible 2026 Youth Olympic Games spot.

“For the Uruguayan Handball Federation, participating in the 2025 IHF Youth Beach Handball World Championship in Tunisia represents both a tremendous challenge and an invaluable opportunity,” explained Modernell to ihf.info.

“We are fully aware of the economic and logistical effort involved in being part of an event of this magnitude, but we are also deeply conscious of what it means for the development of beach handball in our country.

“All of our teams and coaching staff have worked with dedication and commitment in preparing for this competition, and we trust that their passion and determination will allow us to compete at the highest level.

“We are hopeful that we can achieve meaningful sporting results and proudly raise Uruguay’s flag on the international stage.”

Coaches: Daniel Bonino, Santiago Rodriguez, Matias Oholeguy
Key players: Thiago Velazco (Goalkeeper), Facundo Silva (Offensive Centre /Specialist), Santiago Huertas (Center Back/Winger), Bryan Martinez (Left Back/Pivot)
Qualification information: 2024 SCAHC Men’s Beach Handball Championships – 3rd
History in tournament: 2017: DNQ, 2022: 14th
Group at Tunisia 2025: Group D – Argentina (ARG), Brazil (BRA), Uruguay (URU), Senegal (SEN)