History was made on Thursday evening at the IHF Men’s Junior World Championship, as the Faroe Islands secured their maiden semi-finals berth, with a 35:33 win over Slovenia.

Underdogs Sweden are also back in the semi-finals for the first time since 2013, after dominating the match against Germany, where they took a 32:26 win, which means a new champion will be crowned.

QUARTER-FINALS

Slovenia vs Faroe Islands 33:35 (13:19)

The Faroe Islands wrote a new chapter in their handball history, as this fantastic generation delivered the nation's first-ever semi-final at the IHF Men's Junior World Championship. They will now have a chance to fight for their first medal at this level, facing Portugal in the semi-final on Friday. After finishing 20th at the last edition of the Junior World Championship, Slovenia now move into the Placement Matches 5–8.

This matchup featured fast-paced handball and plenty of spectacular shots, living up to its billing. The Faroe Islands set the tone early, with Oli Mittun orchestrating the attack. Slovenia only briefly led at 3:2 before falling behind and waiting for a momentum shift.

That moment finally came around the 16th minute, when Lucijan Korošec scored his third to level the score at 8:8, and Slovenia looked ready to flip the script. Aljuš Anžič, already on seven goals by halftime, led the charge, but their shot efficiency slowly dropped to 62%, and cracks began to show.

The Faroese, on the other hand, kept pouncing. Aleksandar Lacok made crucial stops, reaching a 40% save rate, and that stability between the posts allowed their attack to flow. From 14:10, they stormed to a 19:13 lead at the break—their biggest advantage of the match so far.

However, the Faroe Islands' start to the second half was anything but convincing. Turnovers and less sturdy defence saw them score only two goals in seven minutes, while Slovenia responded with five—including a three-goal run—and closed the gap to three (18:21).

But just when Slovenia looked like they had figured it out, Isak Vedelsbol came in fiery. The right back stormed in with three goals in quick succession, restoring a five-goal cushion and swinging the rhythm back in the Faroe Islands' favour midway through the second half (29:24).

With just under three minutes to go, Hogni Højsted—who had already netted three—collided awkwardly with Maj Jelen. The challenge earned him a straight red card, leaving Slovenia with a man down in the closing stretch, just when they needed a last push. But it didn't affect them—they narrowed the gap again to 33:34, setting up a thrilling finish. Rókur Ziskason's goal and Lacok's last-second save secured the Faroese win.

Player of the Match: Aleksandar Lacok (Faroe Islands)

Germany vs Sweden 26:32 (14:16)

Reigning champions Germany were still unbeaten coming into the quarter-final against Sweden, whereas the Scandinavian side, which was looking for their maiden top-4 finish at the IHF Men’s Junior World Championship, had already lost against Portugal.

Yet this match was closer than it looked on paper, especially as Sweden managed to overcome a slow start, where they went down early, 1:4, with nothing working in attack and in defence for the Scandinavian side. Therefore, Germany looked to have it in the bag, only for Sweden to slowly wake up.

A 4:1 run for Sweden, spurred by their top scorer in this competition, centre back Axel Mansson, tied the score, while the decisive moment of the first part came in a five minutes and 52 seconds stint, where Germany failed to score, and Sweden went on a 4:0 scoring spree.

Some fast breaks converted by wings Isak Borg and Noah Martinsson helped Sweden open up a 9:6 lead, which proved to tilt the scales for the Scandinavian side, as Germany found nothing in their attack to beat goalkeeper Arvid Skoog, who had two one-on-one saves, including a penalty.

Down two goals at half-time, Germany failed to score in their first attacks, while Mansson and Martinsson converted two more shots to create a 3:0 run and open Sweden’s first four-goal lead, 18:14, with Germany in dire need of a reset, seeing themselves backed into a corner.

Despite trying their mightest and Sweden losing influential line player Theodor Uliana Starck after conceding his third suspension, the Scandinavian side opened a larger lead, due to Germany’s plethora of turnovers – nine compared to three when there were only 15 minutes to go.

Two penalties missed by David Móré and Florian Drosten also hampered Germany’s efforts to mount a comeback, as with 15 minutes to go, the gap grew to five goals, 26:21, with the reigning champions needing a flawless finish to turn the match in their favour.

While Sweden got another player see a red card due to accumulating three suspensions, Marcus Björkman, the Scandinavian side still produced more than their opponents in attack, to seal a fantastic 32:26 win, earning their 11th top-4 finish at the IHF Men’s Junior World Championship.

Sweden will face Denmark on Friday for a place in the final, in an-all Scandinavian semi-final, with another chance at history for Sweden, which finished outside of the top-10 in the previous three editions of the competition.

Meanwhile, the reigning champions will head to the Placement Matches 5-8, as a new champion will be crowned on Sunday, in Katowice.

Player of the Match: Axel Mansson (Sweden)