The afternoon matches in Athens and Hanover meant two wins for African sides, with Egypt and Algeria clinching two points in the preliminary round of the 24th IHF Men's Junior World Championship.

Egypt were down three goals against Saudi Arabia but bounced back and clinched a 42:34 win against the Asian side, while Algeria had to sweat against Libya but eventually opened their account at Germany/Greece 2023 to secure their first win in the tournament (27:19).

• Group B

Libya vs Algeria 19:27 (11:12)

Last summer, Algeria clinched a big win against Libya (38:23) at the 2022 CAHB African Men's Junior Handball Championship and were big favourites here once again, despite their loss against Tunisia, where they simply could not keep the pace with their opponents.

Yet this game looked to be more balanced, especially in the first half, when Libya found themselves down four goals (7:11) only to bounce back and cut the lead to a single goal (11:12) at the break after their 5-1 defence proved to be a strong test for Algeria's attack.

But in the second half, Algeria relied heavily on goalkeeper Boudemagh Houssem, who did not start the game, yet him replacing Djoulah Chouaib was a crucial moment for the African side. With only 15 minutes to go, Houssam had 11 saves for a 58% saving efficiency, as his team recreated the four-goal lead they had in the first part of the match.

Yet Algeria's depth was the deciding factor, with Libya simply failing to match their opponents' output in the game's closing minutes. A 6:2 run between the 40th and the 49th minutes was decisive for Algeria, which opened their account at Germany/Greece 2023 (27:19) with their top goal scorer, Meddahi Rabah Racim, leading the line with five goals.

This was Algeria's first win in the competition since 2017, when they lost, as hosts, in the Last 16 phase against North Macedonia, while Libya are still looking for their first-ever win in the competition after losing all the nine matches they played so far, including the first two at Germany/Greece 2023.

hummel Player of the Match: Boudemagh Houssem (Algeria)

• Group H

Saudi Arabia vs Egypt 34:42 (20:21)

Despite struggling for much of the game, Egypt celebrated their second win in as many days, making a big step towards the main round. In turn, Saudi Arabia have zero points after two matches, although they fought hard in both. 

Just like the day before against Greece, the Asian side started on a good foot. Murtaja Alkhedhrawi scored four goals in the opening 10 minutes, propelling Saudi Arabia to an 8:4 lead.

It took a while for the Egyptians to adjust to their rivals' aggressive defence, but soon a 3:0 run saw them draw level at 9:9. However, Saudi Arabia were not going to throw in the white flag, and in a hard-fought game, the Africans led by just one goal at half-time (21:20). 

Powered by Omar Mohamed, who became the top scorer of the match with 11 goals, the 'Pharaohs' opened the second half with a 4:1 run. By minute 43, Egypt extended their lead to 30:23, but Saudi Arabia responded with a 7:2 run to stay in fight. 

The Asian team had their heroes, as goalkeeper Jenad Abualwah made 14 saves, and Murtaja Alkhedhrawi scored 10 goals. Still, Egypt pushed hard in the closing minutes, and they hit the 40-goal mark to take a victory. 

hummel Player of the Match: Omar Mohamed (Egypt)