Now it is the business end of the 2025 IHF Men’s and Women’s Youth Beach Handball World Championships.

No more tables, standings or working out how many sets difference or head-to-head records will be enough to see your team through.

The fifth day of competition will feature 28 games for the second, successive match day, with the quarter-finals taking place in the morning and the semi-finals taking place in the afternoon/evening session.

By the end of the day, the two finalists in both the men’s and women’s competitions will be known.

All games will be streamed live via the IHF YouTube Competitions channel.

Four inter-continental men’s quarter-finals make for fascinating viewing

High noon (1200hrs local) on Mamaia Beach in Hammamet will see eight nations from four continents do battle with a place in the semi-finals at stake and with it, two chances to secure a podium spot.

All four clashes – Germany vs Argentina, Tunisia vs Hungary, Brazil vs Oman and Spain vs Thailand are the first time these teams have met each other in the competition and they all promise to be intriguing encounters.

At the 2022 IHF Men’s Youth Beach Handball World Championship in Greece, Germany defeated Argentina 2-0 in the preliminary round - the only time any of the quarter-final match-ups have been played before, with the other three the first-ever meetings between the two teams.

Thailand have now equalled their best-ever ranking in this competition after finishing eighth at Mauritius 2017, while debutants Hungary, Tunisia and Oman are all in their best-ever position, while Spain – with the meanest defence, having conceded just 25 points per game (155 in six games) – are on track as they look towards repeating their 2017 title, or with a win, finishing better than last time out, at Greece 2022, when they finished seventh.

In the 9-16 placement round, Puerto Rico and Cook Islands have a chance to record their first competitive world championship wins – after they were awarded 2-0 default wins for Iran’s non-appearance – when they take on Uruguay and Kenya respectively. While Mexico will play Senegal in the other match.

Germany lead the men’s top-scorers chart at Tunisia 2025 after the main round with 300 points scored in their six games – 50 per game – thanks to 89 from Tim Perse and 88 from Finn Jacobsen – the top two scorers overall.

Europe-heavy last eight looking to be breached by South America

With their games against Hungary and Germany respectively, Brazil and Uruguay hope to push into the last four with victories against two of Europe’s strongest sides, with the pair finished fourth and fifth at the YAC 16 EURO in Bulgaria last year.

Historically-speaking Hungary are strong. They won gold in 2017 and finished fourth in 2022, but Brazil have been improving game-by-game and could push them all the way. Surprise package of Tunisia 2025 Uruguay have already smashed their best-ever – and only – previous ranking of 13th (2022) and having lost just once so far, Germany need to be wary of them.

The other two quarter-finals are all-European affairs with Netherlands playing Croatia, a repeat of their main round game from Mauritius 2017 which the Dutch won 2-0 on their way to silver. Last year at the YAC 16 EURO the Netherlands beat Croatia again on their way to a medal, a 2-1 (20:22, 15:14, SO 5:2) preliminary group victory securing their pathway to gold.

France and Spain also met in the same competition at the same stage and with the game also going to a shoot-out, Spain taking a 2-1 (21:24, 25:23, SO 8:7) victory.

In the 9-16 placement round China play Bulgaria, Tunisia take on Mexico and Senegal and Kenya meet in a continental clash.

After the conclusion of the main round, Germany lead the team scoring charts with 330 points in six games – 55 per game, while Hungary have conceded the fewest, with 172 in their six games (28 per game). Leading the table as the top-scorer, Spain’s Carlota Bravo Garcia is way ahead of the second-placed Helena Furcic. Garcia’s 144 points from six games, 39 clear of Furcic’s 105.

Saturday 21 June – Schedule
(All times local)

Men’s Competition

9-16 Placement Round

1020 MEX vs SEN, URU vs COK, PUR vs KEN

Quarter-Finals

1200 GER vs ARG, TUN vs HUN, BRA vs OMA, ESP vs THA

Semi-Finals

1650 Semi-Final 1

1830 Semi-Final 2

In addition, the afternoon/evening session will also feature 5-8, 9-12 and 13-16 placement matches.

Women’s Competition

9-16 Placement Round

0930 CHN vs BUL, TUN vs MEX, SEN vs KEN

Quarter-Finals

1110 NED vs CRO, ESP vs FRA, HUN vs BRA, GER vs URU

Semi-Finals

1600 Semi-Final 1

1740 Semi-Final 2

In addition, the afternoon/evening session will also feature 5-8, 9-12 and 13-16 placement matches.