Spain, Germany and Qatar win big at the 2025 IHF Men's Under-17 World Championship

Spain, Germany and Qatar were the winners of the three matches of the inaugural IHF Men’s Under-17 World Championship, improving their chances of reaching the semi-finals of the competition.

GROUP B
Spain vs Republic of Korea 57:16 (23:9)

The maiden match in the history of the IHF Men’s Under-17 World Championship saw a clear win by Spain, which scored almost one goal per minute, to jump to a clear 57:16 win against the Republic of Korea, with all their outfield players scoring at least one goal.

After only five minutes in the match, the Republic of Korea called a team time-out, as Spain were already up four goals, 5:1, but it got even worse for the Asian side, which could not avoid costly turnovers, losing 19 balls due to mistakes only in the first half.

After the first half, Spain were up by 14 goals, 23:9, with their fast breaks being devastatingly efficient, as right wing Ian Viladiú Peré had already scored six goals after the first 30 minutes.

Spain’s goalkeepers, Albert Quesada Quesada (nine saves for 60% saving efficiency) and Rubén Cardenosa López (eight saves for a 44% saving efficiency) successfully blocked any attempt from the Republic of Korea to reduce the gap, as the gap ballooned in the second half.

Viladiú Peré, the Player of the Match, was the only player to hit double digits, scoring 10 goals, but all of Spain’s 14 outfield players scored at least one goal, to deliver a highly efficient 57:16 win, as they converted 20 of their 21 fast break chances, while Korea had 33 turnovers at the end of the match.

Spain drew first blood and improved their chances to become the best group winner at this competition, which, in turn, would see them enjoy an easier route to the final, while the runners-up of the Asian continent need to go back to the drawing board before their matches against Qatar and Tunisia.ß

Player of the Match: Ian Viladiú Peré (Spain)

Tunisia vs Qatar 30:38 (12:18) 

Third at the 2025 AHF Asian Men’s Under-17 Championship, Qatar made a huge statement win in their opener at the 2025 IHF Men’s Under-17 World Championship, dominating Tunisia from start to finish, in a match which eventually ended in a lopsided win for the Asian side, 38:30.

After only seven minutes in the match, Qatar were already 5:1 up, signalling that Tunisia will really struggle to keep the pace, but the African side managed to keep the gap in check until the 18th minute, when they were down by only two goals, 11:9.

Qatar went on a 5:1 run, which turned into a 7:3 one in the end of the first half, as Qatar had two excellent scorers in centre back Ramy Mahrous and left wing Youssef Hussein, who each scored 10 goals in the match, while left back Ahmed Elsayed added eight more goals for the Asian side.

Therefore, with these three players combining for 28 of their team’s 38 goals and Mahrous also dishing five assists, Qatar were never in doubt, albeit for a brief moment in the start of the second half, when Tunisia used a 3:0 run to cut the gap to three goals, 19:16.

As Qatar goalkeeper, the Player of the Match, Omar Elsayed, saved 15 shots, for a 34% saving efficiency, Tunisia’s attack started to falter and two consecutive 3:0 runs for the Asian team saw Qatar open a six-goal gap, 27:21, with 15 minutes to go.

It was the point of no return, as the Asian side eventually punished their opponents for their mistakes and created a 38:30 win, being now closer to an unexpected semi-finals berth, provided they will keep their cool in the next matches against Spain and the Republic of Korea.

Player of the Match: Omar Elsayed (Qatar)

GROUP C
Germany vs Islamic Republic of Iran 45:20 (19:10)

Germany were favourites before this match, however they were missing two key players, their two line players for the opener against the Islamic Republic of Iran, but that was nowhere to be seen, as they dominated the match against the Asian champions.

Iran were coming with big ambitions in this competition, especially as they were crowned Asian champions last month, but they failed to contain Germany, which used the entirety of its roster, with all outfield players scoring at least one goal.

By half-time, Germany were up 19:10, but still missed a lot of chances, with the shooting efficiency drastically improving in the second half, when the European side upped the ante and had their overall efficiency up to 66%.

Germany had Kalle Gaugisch and Julius Eisend score six goals each, as in the second half they scored almost one goal per minute, to jump to an eventual 45:20 win, the second-largest in the competition so far, propelling them to the top of Group C.

Player of the Match: Can Akkoc (Germany)