Germany salvaged a last-gasp draw against Spain, 35:35, in one of the most dramatic matches so far at the 2025 IHF Men’s Junior World Championship, while Egypt secured their quarter-finals ticket, thanks to a 28:25 win over Switzerland.

MAIN ROUND
Group IV
Germany vs Spain 35:35 (19:15)

There was no room for mistake for Spain, as a loss would have seen them out of contention and with a chance for their worst finish ever in the IHF Men’s Junior World Championship, a shocking result, especially as the current generation of this “Hispanos” won every possible title in any major international competition.

They were clear title favourites, but the loss against Egypt put pressure on a very experienced team and Spain went on the court knowing exactly what was at stake, taking an early 8:6 lead, which looked to be a strong one, with the team firing from all cylinder, with all important players having a direct hand in goals.

Things complicated even further for Germany when in the space of 16 seconds, they conceded two red cards, to Henri Pabst and Tim Gömmel, two crucial players in their rotation, with coach Martin Heuberger seeing his options reduced. But Germany pulled no punches, and had a chance to rest, as the game was shortly postponed, due to a power failure, as a heavy storm affected Kielce.

As the game resumed, Germany looked like a team transformed and produced a clinical performance, with an otherworldly 81% shooting efficiency in the first half. Deputising instead of Pabst, right back Anton Preußner and left wing David Móré each had seven goals until the 42nd minute, when Germany had a seven-goal lead, 29:22, with Spain’s defence being stopped in its tracks.

With only four saves between their goalkeepers and nine turnovers, while top players like Petar Cikusa or Djordje Cikusa were more miss than hit, Spain found themselves in a big hole, needing a miracle to come back, and save their title chances, as a 3:0 unanswered run spurred by Ian Barrufet and Victor Romero cut the gap to only four goals, 29:25, when there were 15 seconds left on the clock.

Spain cut the gap even further, to three goals, but two one-on-one misses, including a penalty, lifted Germany back to life. But Spain were once again back, having the chance to tie the score, only for a open-goal long shot from Victor Romero to go agonisingly close and Germany hit on the next attack, taking another two-goal lead, 33:31.

And the end was truly dramatic. Spain finally took back the lead, 35:34, and had the chance to open up a two-goal lead, only for Alberto Delgado Molina to miss a penalty with 36 seconds to go. It proved to be crucial, as Germany had their own penalty in the end, which Florian Drosten converted, to salvage a draw, 35:35.

Spain will now need a miracle to qualify, as they first need Germany to lose against Egypt, while their match against Switzerland is a must win. In case those two conditions are met, there is still the goal difference which needs to be cancelled, with Germany now having +10 and Spain -1.

Player of the Match: Elias Newel (Germany)

Egypt vs Switzerland 28:25 (11:13)

With the fate of the qualification in the balance, Switzerland could not afford another ill-timed result against Egypt, but the African champions extended their winning streak at the 2025 IHF Men’s Junior World Championship to four matches, securing their second win in a row against European opposition.

Fresh from a one-win goal against Spain, Egypt did not have the best of starts against Switzerland, but the European side could not capitalise on Egypt’s plethora of turnovers. In fact, the African side scored only three times until the 13th minute, but Switzerland only had five goals at that point, with too many turnovers and missed shots plaguing their attack.

But Egypt did not bounce back quickly and their attack was still suffering at times, but not due to the missed shots – the Swiss goalkeepers registered only four saves between them for a 13% saving efficiency throughout the match. However, Switzerland still held their biggest lead of the match, 13:10, with a few seconds to go, only for Ahmed Ismail to score a buzzer-beater at the end of the first half, bringing Egypt to only two goals in the match, 13:11.

A loss would have seriously complicated Egypt’s chances for a quarter-finals spot, therefore the African side came out more motivated in the second half and took the lead for the first time after 35 minutes, 16:15, with a strong attacking performance, which saw them score five goals in the first 440 seconds of the second half.

Right wing Omar Mohamed then went on a scoring spree, totalling seven goals in the match, followed by left back Mohamed Elbattawi, as the backbone of Egypt’s win was a 4:0 unanswered run between the 47th and 52nd minutes, when they opened up a four-goal lead, 24:20, which proved to be unassailable.

Eventually, Egypt took a 28:25 win, enough for them to qualify for the quarter-finals, thanks to the draw between Germany and Spain, in the last match of the day in Kielce.

Player of the Match: Omar Mohamed (Egypt)