With one week to go before the start of the 25th IHF Men’s Junior World Championship, the 32 participating teams are on the final straight regarding their preparations for the competition.

There are ambitions, title dreams, podium places targeted, but all the participating athletes are aiming high, to play to impress and make another step towards a senior career.

As history has shown, this competition serves as a pathway to greatness. Several members of the All-Star team at the 2017 IHF Men’s Junior World Championship, such as Aleix Gómez, Dika Mem, and Magnus Saugstrup—have since become some of the top players in the world in their respective positions.

Two years earlier, Simon Hald Jensen, Jerry Tollbring or Johan Plogv a Hansen were also named in the All-Star team, while Alex Dujshebaev, Mads Mensah Larsen or Andreas Nilsson were also part of the best team of the competition in 2013 and 2011 respectively.

But who are the players who are ready to shine at the 25th IHF Men’s Junior World Championship?

Petar Cikusa (Spain – centre back)

When Petar Cikuša Jelicic first started handball, him and his twin brother, Djordje, were only four years old. It also helped that their father, Zoran, of Croatian descent, was a former handball player, featuring in Girona, not far away from Barcelona. Now, Cikusa is only 19 years old, but has made his debut at the IHF Men’s World Championship in 2025 and was one of the reserves for “Los Hispanos” at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Cikusa has already plenty of experience at the senior level, featuring two seasons for FC Barcelona in the EHF Champions League Men, winning the title last season, when he scored 24 goals, adding 29 more in the current season, where the Spanish side are due to play in the EHF FINAL4 in Cologne before joining his teammates for Poland 2025.

The centre back was also a member of the Spain team which won the 2023 IHF Men’s Youth World Championship, as well as the MVP of the M20 EHF EURO 2024, being selected in the hope of creating history with this Spain generation, which won the gold medal in all the continental and international competitions played in the younger age categories.

Ziad Hashad (Egypt - centre back)

A dazzling centre back, Hashad has been already touted as one of the next big things in Egyptian handball, and he confirmed his status while delivering a fantastic performance at the 2023 IHF Men’s Youth World Championship in Croatia two years ago, when he was the team’s top scorer, with 40 goals, helping Egypt finish fourth in the final standings.

The centre back, who turned 21 in March, has also made his debut at senior level for his club, Zamalek SC, at the IHF Men’s Club World Championship in the autumn of 2024, therefore he is more than ready to provide some excitement for Egypt, which are usually dark horses in these competitions, due to their determination and grit.

David Móré (Germany - left wing)

Móré has took up handball when he was nine years old, and has grown to be a rising star on the left wing, with his talent quickly identified by Bundesliga club Rhein-Neckar Löwen. For the Germany youth team, he is one of the most prolific scorers in history, scoring 107 goals in 17 matches and since making his debut in the junior team, in November 2023, he added 75 more goals.

He scored 97 goals in the 2023/24 season of the Bundesliga, adding 79 more in the recently-ended season, getting more and more experience, while being named in the All-Star team. Móré, whose father was also a handball player, missed the 2023 IHF Men’s Youth World Championship due to injury, but here he is set to play a prominent role for Germany at Poland 2025.

Frederik Emil Pedersen (Denmark - centre back)

At the 2023 IHF Men’s Youth World Championship, Frederik Emil Pedersen was the second best scorer, with 56 goals, as well as the MVP of the competition, with four hummel Player of the Match awards received on the path towards the silver medal for Denmark.

Pedersen started handball as a left wing, but transitioned to a centre back, and his performances soared over the past years, as he signed for GOG in 2023, after spending some years at Ajax Kobenhavn. He made his debut in the EHF Champions League Men in the 2023/24 season, scoring six goals for GOG, then, one year later, he had 15 goals in the EHF European League Men for the Danish side.

He also scored 37 goals for GOG in the Danish league this season, as his role got bigger in the squad and is arguably one of Denmark’s most experienced players in the roster for the 2025 IHF Men’s Junior World Championship, where Pedersen is expected to lead his side to another podium challenge.

Patryk Wasiak (Poland - right back)

Poland will surely be boosted by hosting the competition, as they are aiming for their top finish since 2003, when they finished 7th. However, the best result is still the 4th place in 1997 and the hosts will need to make it out of the main round if they are to contend for one of the top places.

Enter Patryk Wasiak, who was his team’s top scorer one year ago, at the M20 EHF EURO 2024, when Poland finished 14th. Wasiak, a towering right back, scored 38 goals, and has been plying his trade in Spain, in the first league, for Abanca Ademar Leon, where he scored 36 and 43 goals respectively in the past two seasons.

Óli Mittún (Faroe Islands – centre back)

The Faroe Islands produced two highly competitive generations, having already featured at the 2023 IHF Men’s Junior World Championship, where the Nordic side finished seventh. He was also the top goal scorer and the All-Star centre back at the 2023 IHF Men’s Youth World Championship, where the Faroe Islands finished eighth.

Two years ago, Mittún scored 87 goals for the Faroe Islands at the 2023 IHF Men’s Youth World Championship, 31 more than any other player, and has already made his debut for the senior side, where he already played at the EHF EURO 2024. 2025 will be a big year for the Faroese centre back, as he will try to bring more glory to his national side, as well as moving to Denmark.

After three years spent at IK Sävehof in Sweden, Mittún signed for Danish giants GOG, a hotbed of developing young talent, as he prepares to shine at Poland 2025 too, in his last major international event in the younger age categories, as Mittún only turned 20 years old on 10 June.

Diogo Rêma Marques (Portugal - goalkeeper)

Rêma Marques has already been part of the Portugal squad for the 2023 IHF Men’s Junior World Championship and this will be his second World Championship for the juniors, but the Portugal goalkeeper has made his debut at the senior IHF Men’s World Championship and was a big reason why Portugal secured the fourth place, with an excellent performance in the quarter-final against Germany.

The shot stopper turned 21 years old in March and has been getting more and more experience at club level at FC Porto, in the EHF Champions League and the EHF European League Men. He had 43 saves in nine matches at Croatia/Denmark/Norway 2025 and will bring a lot of that experience to this competition.

Michal Baran (France - centre back)

France have provided some exciting results in the friendly matches before the start of the 2025 IHF Men’s Junior World Championship, after some disappointing results. Last year, at the M20 EHF EURO 2024, this generation finished on the 10th place, but a win over Germany and a narrow loss against Spain in the Airport Trophy saw France on the path of improvement.

Baran, who played for Cesson Rennes in this season of the French league, scoring 59 goals in 28 matches, is a strong centre back, who can shoot and create. He was also on the shortlist of the “best young player” in the French league, but eventually did not win the trophy this season.

Skarphéðinn Ívar Einarsson (Iceland - left back)

Only 19 years old, Einarsson has already featured in European competitions, such as the EHF European Cup Men this season, scoring a whopping 42 goals for Haukar. At 1.93m tall, the left back has a towering presence and is considered to be a hot prospect, with plenty of teams following him.

A player who has never shied away from responsibility, Einarsson has averaged roughly six goals per match in the Icelandic league, and the first big test will come here for him, despite being only 19 years old, as he is eyed as a top prospect to help Iceland clinch another medal.


 

Daniel Stanciuc (Romania - centre back)

Stanciuc turned 21 years old in March and this season has definitely been the best of his career. He moved to Romanian champions Dinamo București in 2023, scoring eight goals in the EHF European League Men, but under coach David Davis he did not get a lot of playing time, scoring only eight goals in the recently-ended season in the EHF Champions League Men.

However, Stanciuc got more and more confidence for the Romania senior men’s national team, where he excelled in the EHF EURO 2026 qualifiers. He was the team’s top scorer throughout the qualifiers, with 42 goals, including a fantastic ending of the group, where the centre back scored 13 goals in the 28:24 win against Portugal and 10 goals in the 29:30 loss against Poland.

Romania are back after a 10-year wait to the IHF Men’s Junior World Championship, and with Stanciuc at the helm, as the most experienced player in the squad, they will aim to secure a place in the main round in one of the most balanced – if not the most balanced group – at Poland 2025.