Last September, Argentina were crowned champions in the South and Central America Men’s Under-16 Championship, sweeping their opponents, surviving a tough semi-final against Chile, 28:27, and a crunch match against Brazil in the last act, 26:21.

In each of the two matches, Argentina’s top scorer was centre back Nicolas La Delfa, who had six and nine goals respectively, being the driving force for the South American powerhouse’s challenge towards the trophy.

La Delfa, who will turn 18 years old in January 2026, is considered to be one of the hottest prospects in Argentinian handball, having already featured at a higher age level, when he donned the national team shirt at the 2025 IHF Men’s Youth World Championship in Egypt.

There, the centre back punched above his weight, being his team’s second best scorer, and entering the top-50 scorers list of the competition, with 34 goals and 25 assists, delivering seven goals in the narrow loss against Norway, 28:29, and eight goals in the matches against Uruguay and the Faroe Islands.

Now, he is one of the most experienced players in the Argentina squad at the 1st IHF Men’s Under-17 World Championship, where the South American squad opened their account in the first matchday, with a 43:25 win over Puerto Rico.

“No matter if it is an Under-19 or an Under-17 World Championship, you always feel the pressure, because it is the most important competition on the planet. Here, my role is a bit different, because I have more experience, but I always try to contribute my little grain of sand. But to be fair, it means nothing, that doesn't mean that we play differently,” said La Delfa after the match against Puerto Rico.

Nicolas’ brother also played handball and he has been the main influence for the current Argentina Under-17 centre back, who started to play the sport since he was only five years old.

“I just started very young, just shooting the ball. And I have always been in the same club, playing with my friends, handball was something we had in the family. It is a very nice sport, it is fast, there is a lot of contact, it is perfect for me,” says La Delfa.

While at the junior or youth level Argentina have never finished higher than the fourth place, at the 2007 IHF Men’s Youth World Championship, and they did not make the top-10 more than four times, this time around, in the 12-team line-up at Morocco 2025, the South American side might have a chance.

They are in Group C, alongside Germany, Puerto Rico and the Islamic Republic of Iran. They currently are the best second-placed side in the competition, with a goal difference of +18, 10 goals higher than Qatar and 17 goals higher than the United States of America.

Win against Iran and they might be in with a big chance, considering that the match against Germany will see Argentina start as underdogs. Limit the damage in that last encounter in the preliminary round and things can be on the up.

However, the match against Puerto Rico has not been plain sailing for the South American side. They started being four goals down, 1:5, and only made the gap balloon in the second half, when they scored 28 goals in 30 minutes.

“The truth is, I'm very happy, very happy for this win. At the beginning it was difficult because we were very nervous, but then we knew how to solve it and we managed to take the win and be in a good position now,” says La Delfa.

The centre back says he draws his inspiration from Diego Simonet, arguably one of the best ever Argentinian players to feature on the court. But whether he can follow into Simonet’s footsteps, who is 35 years old and close to finishing his career, it is something to be seen.

Nevertheless, La Delfa is seriously enjoying his time in the Blancoceleste shirt.

“It is the most beautiful thing to represent Argentina. Any boy from Argentina who plays handball wants to feel this experience,” concludes the 17-year-old centre back.