Argentina and Brazil set up a crunch clash for the fifth place at the 1st IHF Men’s Under-17 World Championship in Morocco, as they both won their fourth match in the competition, against the USA (39:26) and Tunisia (35:32) respectively.

PLACEMENT MATCHES 5-8
Argentina vs United States of America 39:26 (16:12)

In their quest for a better finish at Morocco 2025, Argentina aimed to get back to their winning ways, after a disappointing loss against Germany and they got the morale boost they needed, with a statement win against the United States of America, 39:26.

A strong start from goalkeeper Francisco Perez, who was the Player of the Match, with three saves in the first three shots, saw Argentina create a big gap from the start, jumping to a 7:3 lead, which prompted the USA to take a team time-out and weather the storm.

Centre back Jorge Gomez De Santiago started to get into the groove for the USA, and helped a 4:1 run, cutting the lead to a single goal, but the American side did not have enough firepower to maintain that rhythm and they were down four goals at the break, 16:12, with Argentina in full control of the match.

Perez, who finished the match with 10 saves and a 43% saving efficiency, was seconded excellently by his understudy, Nehuen Mazzaferri, in the second half, as the goalkeeper also posted nine saves for a 43% saving efficiency, basically stopping the USA team in its tracks.

And that was to be seen on the scoreboard, as USA’s numbers – a 46% shooting efficiency and a 39% attacking efficiency – limited their impact in the second half. Led by centre back Nicolas La Delfa, who had seven goals and three asssits, Argentina provided a fantastic second half, scoring 23 goals.

As the gap grew bigger, so did the USA’s tired legs, with the American side failing to keep up with Argentina, which eventually secured a 39:26 win, progressing to the Placement Match 5/6, where they are due to clash against Brazil, in an all South American derby.

Player of the Match: Francisco Perez (Argentina)

Brazil vs Tunisia 35:32 (20:19)

For the first half, there was nothing to separate Brazil and Tunisia, as the two teams went head-to-head for the win, which would have seen them secure a top-6 finish in the competition.

None of the teams managed to open a lead bigger than one goal, with the lead changing hands multiple times, but a pattern emerged, as Brazil were the more efficient side in front of the goal, but turned the ball over more times.

And Tunisia were there to punish the error-prone South American side, but at the end of the first half there was only one goal separating the two sides, as Brazil took a 20:19 lead, with 39 goals between the two sides combined.

The pace of the second half changed totally, with the two sides scoring at a lower pace, but it was Tunisia which finally broke the deadlock, starting with a 3:0 run to open a 22:20 lead.

However, that changed once again, as Brazil went on a pivotal 5:0 run, which proved to be the decisive moment of the match. Davi Lima had six goals for Brazil, 30:25, but the biggest difference was between the goalkeepers, where the game was won by the South American side.

By the 50th minute, when Brazil had a 30:25 lead, the three Tunisia goalkeepers had only saved three shots between them, for a 9% saving efficiency, while Brazil were hovering around 30%.

Brazil, which had all but one outfield player score at least one goal, managed to keep their cool in the end and pull through, with their 34:31 win ensuring the South American side will finish in the top six teams, facing Argentina in the battle for the fifth place.

Player of the Match: Davi Lima (Brazil)