The first 14 games of a 28-game day completed on Mamaia Beach in Hammamet, Tunisia with eight quarter-finals in the men’s and women’s competitions, plus various 9-16 placement matches.

All games can be watched again on the IHF YouTube Competitions channel.

Brazil, Spain, Hungary and Germany into semi-finals

At the 2022 IHF Men’s Youth Beach Handball World Championship in Greece, Germany defeated Argentina 2-0 in the preliminary round, and this time around it was much closer, the Europeans taking a 2-0 (23:22, 17:16) victory, but it was a squeeze. The first set won by specialist Yannick Alt with two seconds remaining and then the second, by golden goal from Tim Perse after Argentina had won the throw-off but then missed their shot.

"It’s amazing to get to the next step," said Germany's Thure Bielfeldt to ihf.info. "We know it was our hardest game yet; the quarter-finals are the toughest game - you can win or lose everything. I’m happy I did enough in the end.

"When the golden goal starts I feel nothing. My brain shuts up. You just do what you’ve been taught to do and just do it. Every step so far leads you here so you don’t even think."

Spain made light work of Thailand in their quarter-final, winning 2-0 (28:13, 21:18) and are on track as they look towards repeating their 2017 title after confirming their second-highest ranking after finishing seventh at Greece 2022. The Asian side had already equalled their best-ever ranking after their eighth place at Mauritius 2017.

In the other quarter-finals, debutants Hungary saw off hosts Tunisia 2-0 (23:21, 19:12), while Brazil stayed on course for their second, successive silver medal, with a 2-0 (27:22, 26:24) victory over Oman.

"It was really tough. We practiced a lot for this match and spent many hours preparing. We had to win. Tunisia did their best, but we were better. It is what it is," said Hungary's Peter Nemeth to ihf.info.

"The atmosphere was the best, and the fans. It was amazing and my mum was here too, cheering for us. It’s a gift to be in the top four at the world championship. We just want to enjoy it. I’m really looking forward to the next match and we're feeling optimistic."

In the 9-16 placement round, Puerto Rico won their first competitive world championship wins – after they were awarded a 2-0 default win for Iran’s non-appearance – when they beat Kenya 2-0 (22:14, 22:10), while the Cook Islands are still searching for their first win, losing 2-0 (30:14, 31:14) to Uruguay. The final game was a cracker, with Senegal taking a shoot-out win against Mexico, 2-1 (16:9, 12:17, SO 7:2).

“Our main round group wasn’t easy, so it’s really a blessing to be able to win our first game,” said Puerto Rico’s Jadhiel Fontanez. “Our goal for this tournament is to rank in the top 10, so we’re very happy with today’s result.

“We have a very tight-knit community and our families back home really support us. They’re thankful for what we’re doing here. That, along with the strong connection between us as a team, keeps us going.

“I’m very proud of my teammates,” he said. “I’m really happy with today’s result, but I believe we can do even better in the next game.”

All-European women’s semi-finals set up as South Americans beaten in last eight

The historically-strong Hungary won youth world championship gold in 2017, finished fourth in 2022 and now, thanks to their 2-0 (18:17, 18:16) win over Brazil, will finish in the top four again. The South Americans will be kicking themselves though as two team timeouts at the end of both sets saw their resulting plays missed in that tight loss.

Like at Mauritius 2017, the Dutch beat Croatia again 2-0, but this time it was not the main round, but a quarter-final. Their 2-0 (29:14, 29:26) today means the Netherlands – who have won all seven of their games so far – are in the final four again for the third, successive time, while Croatia have recorded their highest-ranking, beating their previous high of ninth.

“The first set went really well, but the second set… not so much,” said Netherlands’ Lynn Verdikt to ihf.info. “Still, we fought until the end and I I’m proud of my teammates; we fought until the end and never gave up.”

“Before this game we were undefeated, so we had a good feeling,” added Nienke Slippens. “We believed we had it in us to win. You could see that in the first set - we had all the energy. But in the second set, they were better than we expected and scored a lot. The difference was that we couldn’t block them, and they scored too many points. But in the end, we won – everyone should stay positive. It didn’t go exactly how we hoped, but staying positive helps us all.”

Surprise package of Tunisia 2025 Uruguay gave Germany a stern test in their quarter-final. With a chance to bring the score within one at 17:16 to Germany, but the Europeans resisted and pushed on for a clear 21:14 victory. 

A passionate half-time team talk from the Uruguayan coaching staff had the desired effect and the second set was tight. However, it started with a key opportunist single-point from key player Mia Herr who punched the loose ball into the empty goal from the throw-off.

Again, Uruguay could have gone ahead and made it 6:3 but they rushed their chance and threw wide of an open goal. This gave Germany the confidence to continue to push on, but their South American counterparts fought right through to the final seconds.

“I can't believe it; we are in the semi-final,” said a shaking with excitement, Herr to ihf.info. “Yes, I am shaking. Last year at the EURO we lost in this round, and now we won it, so it's crazy. Uruguay were very hard to play against.

“I'm very nervous [for the semi-final] but I'm sure we can do this and we hope to get a medal, gold.”

Despite the loss, Uruguay have already smashed their best-ever – and only – previous ranking of 13th (2022).Spain repeated their YAC 16 EURO victory over France from last year, with a 2-1 (18:20, 21:18, SO 7:4) in the fourth quarter-final.

"The first set was very difficult, we scored few goals and we weren’t at our full potential of attack, but we did very good in defence. And then, in the shoot-out, I felt very nervous and anxious, but it all went well," said Spain's Abril Torres Corbera to ihf.info. "Beach handball is so much fun and everyone is happy, it’s entertaining and emotional."

The shoot-out featured a rare incident of a goalkeeper celebrating a save, but then ball spinning and bouncing back into the goal after the initial save and in the end, it would prove to be important.

"It was incredible. I mean, I never saw that before," said Spain assistant coach Elena Hierro Ciller to ihf.info. "I thought the ball was just out like everyone, but this gave so much hope to my team. It was a lucky goal, but it was because of the sand of course - but that’s part of the game."

In the 9-16 placement round China beat their first European side in Bulgaria, Tunisia defeated Mexico via shoot-out and Kenya came out on top in their continental clash with Senegal.

“We feel great,” said China’s Yi Pan, to ihf.info. “I think it was our spirit which helped us win the game today.”

Saturday 21 June – Morning Results

Men’s Competition

9-16 Placement Round
MEX vs SEN 1-2 (9:16, 17:12, SO 2:7)
URU vs COK 2-0 (30:14, 31:14)
PUR vs KEN 2-0 (22:14, 22:10)

Quarter-Finals
GER vs ARG 2-0 (23:22, 17:16)
TUN vs HUN 0-2 (21:23, 12:19)
BRA vs OMA 2-0 (27:22, 22:14)
ESP vs THA 2-0 (28:13, 21:18)

Women’s Competition

9-16 Placement Round
CHN vs BUL 2-0 (23:22, 25:20)
TUN vs MEX 2-1 (17:10, 20:21, SO 13:12)
SEN vs KEN 1-2 (19:17, 16:22, SO 0:3)

Quarter-Finals
NED vs CRO 2-0 (29:14, 29:26)
ESP vs FRA 2-1 (18:20, 21:18, SO 7:4)
HUN vs BRA 2-0 (18:17, 18:16)
GER vs URU 2-0 (21:14, 19:16)

Saturday 21 June – Afternoon/Evening Schedule
(All times local)

Men’s Competition

1600
9-12 Placement Round: CRO vs SEN, URU vs PUR

1650
Semi-Final: BRA vs ESP

1830
Semi-Final: GER vs HUN
5-8 Placement Round: ARG vs TUN, OMA vs THA
13-16 Placement Round: COK vs KEN

Women’s Competition

1510
9-12 Placement Round: THA vs CHN, TUN vs KEN

1600
Semi-Final: HUN vs GER

1650
13-16 Placement Round: MEX vs SEN

1740
Semi-Final: NED vs ESP
5-8 Placement Round: BRA vs URU, CRO vs FRA

With thanks to Lynda Ben Amara, Meriem Zroud and Noe Calman for the player interviews.