The most anticipated moment of the 24th IHF Men's Junior World Championship is here. Four teams in two top-notch matches will try to overcome all the difficulties and seal the final berth.

The first semi-final brings the clash between two unbeaten sides at Germany/Greece 2023. In the second semi-final, co-hosts Germany will try to make their fans proud and extend their winning streak over confident Serbia.

Semi-finals

• 15:30 CEST Hungary vs Iceland

Hungary have played the IHF Men's Junior World Championship semi-finals three times, in 1977, 2003 and 2005, and only once they reached the final. Iceland managed to do the same only once, in 1993, when they finished third. Both sides dream of the historic final and a huge step forward for this generation. Hungary were fifth at the M20 EHF EURO 2022, while Iceland earned 11th place.

The teams enter the semi-final berth with an equally efficient campaign behind them, being unbeaten at Germany/Greece 2023. The Hungarians were particularly successful against Scandinavian sides, beating Sweden, Denmark and Norway. They would like to continue the same path against another side with a well-known Scandinavian influence.

Hungary are the second most efficient defence of the competition, conceding 23.67 games per game on average. However, Iceland are close behind with 24.17 goals per game received. It will be a true battle of strong defences but also a fast and efficient attack. Centre back Péter Lukacs, right back Zoran Ilic and right wing Bence Imre were their key links.

Being in the semi-finals after 30 years has been a fairytale for Icelanders and they want to make it even a step further. Leaning over to the left side, Andi Mar Runarsson, Símon Michael Guðjónsson and Torsteinn Leó Gunnarsson are the leading trio in the squad, netting together 73 times –almost 43% of all Icelandic goals at the competition.

• 18:00 CEST Germany vs Serbia

The bronze medalist from the M20 EHF EURO 2022, Serbia, dream of their first World Championship medal after reaching the semi-finals for the first time. They will face the co-hosts, Germany, who are dreaming of repeating the 2009 and 2011 successes when they were crowned the champions.

Germany are the unbeaten side of the duel, having a successful path from Magdeburg to Berlin, beating Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, France, Croatia and Denmark on the way to the semi-finals. Serbia had a more stressful start, losing to Iceland, but they redeemed themselves in a do-or-die game against Egypt, overrun co-hosts Greece and stopped the surprise of the competition, the Faroe Islands, in the quarter-finals.

Germany were flying on their great support at home, being unassailable in all six games. Despite having a drop of energy in the last minutes of the games, they were dominant enough not to put a win in question. Left wing Tim Freihöfer is their top scorer, having his tally at 32 and two players that proved to be crucial are the goalkeepers David Späth and Ludwig Lasse.

Serbia will have to play without Nikola Zečević, the author of 20 goals, after his severe knee injury in the quarter-finals. However, they count on two powerful shooters, Miloš Kos (35 goals) and Mateja Dodić (31 goals), with strong support from the goalkeeper Luka Krivkopaić.

"Germany are a great team that has quality players in all positions and they play at home. We are expecting a match in front of 10,000 fans who will be cheering with a burning desire for their nation to take the throne. In such an environment, we have to show our hearts and all our qualities. I have no doubt that we can do it. We can oppose any team in the world despite the aggravating circumstances. We will overcome it with our intelligence, motivation and recognition of the moment we are in," said Serbian head coach Đorđe Teodorović for rss.org.rs.

The last time these two sides met at the competition was at the M20 EHF EURO 2022 and Serbia was the victorious side. They beat Germany 33:30 and Miloš Kos netted 11 times.