Croatia 2023 will be the first edition of the IHF Men’s Youth World Championship with 32 teams at the start and the first one with eight groups of four teams each in the preliminary round, with the top two sides progressing to the main round, while the other two sides head to the President’s Cup.

Hosts Croatia have been drawn into Group A, which will take place in Varaždin, and will look to improve their tally in the all-time standings, as they currently sit on the third place with a gold medal, two silver medals and a bronze medal in their eighth participation, being one of the five sides in history to have taken part in every edition of the world handball flagship competition so far.

The hosts, which will definitely be supported by copious amounts of fans, will face Portugal, Algeria and debutants Rwanda in a battle between two European and two African sides.

Portugal are one of the sides which have drastically improved at this level over the past years, with a seventh place at Georgia 2017 and a fourth place at North Macedonia 2019, while Rwanda look primed to make some upsets after finishing second last summer at the CAHB African Men’s Youth Handball Championship, where Algeria finished on the fifth spot.

In Group B, also due to be played in Varaždin, another two European sides, Hungary and Slovenia, are primed to seal the main round berths, having more experience than the other two sides taking part, Morocco and New Zealand.

While they are taking part only for the fourth time in the IHF Men’s Youth World Championship, Hungary have always finished in the top 10 and will look to replicate their performance form June at the IHF Men’s Junior World Championship, when they sealed a silver medal, after dropping a single game, against hosts Germany, in the final.

Slovenia are in the competition for the sixth time, also with excellent results in the previous editions, but their standard dropped a bit at Georgia 2017 and North Macedonia 2019 when they ended up on the 13th and 15th places, respectively.

Morocco are back in the competition for the first time since 2009 and can be a tough nut to crack at times due to their usual good defence, while New Zealand are the outsiders, a team lacking experience but with huge grit, returning for the first time in 12 years after failing to win a game at Argentina 2011.

Group A

• Portugal

Over the last years, a key emphasis was put on youth development for Portugal, as underlined at the last editions of the IHF Men’s Youth World Championship, the IHF Men’s Junior World Championship and the M20 EHF EURO. While a trophy has still eluded the European side, they have been actively becoming better and better, developing excellent players who made the step towards the senior team.

This will be the third consecutive edition of the IHF Men’s Youth World Championship which Portugal take part in, with the previous two bringing excellent results for the European side, a seventh place in 2017 and a fourth place in 2019, with an excellent generation led by Martim Mota da Costa or Salvador Salvador.

Last summer, Portugal ended up on the eighth place at the M18 EHF EURO 2022, with some ups and downs in their form, failing to contend for the title. This time around, their roster will be made up of several players from FC Porto, seven in their squad for the competition, but they will be missing one of the key players, Vasco Costa, who featured in the IHF Men’s Junior World Championship in June, where Portugal ended up on the sixth place. Right back Ricardo Machado is also absent due to an injury.

The European side will be heavily favoured to progress to the next phase in a group where they are clearly the team with the biggest chances to win against Rwanda and Algeria, but they will have their work cut out against hosts Croatia, a game which will probably decide the outcome of the competition and how far Portugal can go at the 2023 IHF Men’s Youth World Championship.

Key players: Eduardo Leite (right wing), Tiago Sousa (centre back), Nuno Oliveira (left wing)
Qualification for Croatia 2023: M18 EHF EURO 2022 – 8th place 
History in the tournament: 2017: 7th, 2019: 4th

• Croatia

Croatia are one of the sides with the best pedigree at the IHF Men’s Youth World Championship, having secured four medals and qualified for the semi-finals five times, yet their last medal in the competition came in 2013, when they secured the silver.

In fact, three of the four medals came in the first three editions of the competition, with a bronze at Qatar 2005, a silver medal at Bahrain 2007 and the gold at Tunisia 2009, with a drop in the quality of their performances since then. Since that time, Croatia have been dropping their level, with the latest edition of the IHF Men’s Youth World Championship seeing them finish on the 10th place.

The pressure will be on Croatia this time around, as they will be the hosts of the world handball flagship competition at this age level, with expectations running high and a medal clearly being the objective for the young Croatia side.

Whether they will make it or not is still to be seen, but this generation finished fifth at the M18 EHF EURO 2022, despite a disappointing performance in the main round. Once again, in the preliminary round, they will face Portugal, a team they lost against last summer, 24:25, but the potential is there, as highlighted by the 28:26 win against Denmark in the Placement Match 5/6.

There are several players who already made their debuts for the senior squads, which in a tough competition like the Croatian first league means an important advantage, as the hosts look primed to progress to the main round in a group where they will be facing Portugal, Rwanda and Algeria.

Key players: Toni Zivkovic (right wing), Karlo Juric (right back), Martin Tomšić (centre back), Aleksandar Capric (left back)
Qualification for Croatia 2023: Hosts 
History in the tournament: 2005: 3rd, 2007: 2nd, 2009: Winners, 2011: 8th, 2013: 2nd, 2015: 14th, 2017: 4th, 2019: 10th 

• Rwanda

Rwanda are one of the few debutants at the IHF Men’s Youth World Championship, but their performance at the 2022 CAHB African Men's Youth Handball Championship raised some eyebrows, especially after taking full advantage of their home court in Kigali to secure their first-ever medal in the competition.

While not a country with a huge handball tradition, Rwanda definitely delivered some excellent performances, finishing on the second place in their preliminary round group after clinching a win in their first game, 53:32, against Madagascar, losing against Egypt, 30:44, and sensationally snatching a point against Algeria, 30:30.

Their superior goal difference, +7, compared to Algeria’s -1 was the tiebreaker that saw Rwanda sail to the semi-finals, where they provided the biggest shock of the competition, a 35:34 win against Morocco, to ensure their first-ever medal in the continental competition.

Sure, the final against Egypt, a true powerhouse of the African continent, was a straightforward procession for the reigning world champions, but Rwanda still stood tall in the first half, where they entered the break with a six-goal deficit, 16:22.

Eventually, Egypt took a clear win, 51:29, but Rwanda celebrated the silver as if it were the gold medal, especially as they managed to qualify for the first time in their history for the IHF Men’s Youth World Championship, underlining their hunger for performance and their immense potential.

Their work will be cut out at Croatia 2023, as the group they were drawn into is not necessarily the easiest, with their chances of progression to the main round being slim to none, as they are due to face Portugal and Croatia. The biggest test, however, is a rematch against Algeria, with the winners having big chances to secure a place among the top 20 sides in the world at this age category, which would be an immense boost for Rwanda.

Key players: Emmanuel Kubwimana (centre back), Samuel Mbesutunguwe (left back), Yves Kayijamahe (line player)
Qualification for Croatia 2023: 2022 CAHB African Men's Youth Handball Championship – 2nd place
History in the tournament: Debutants

• Algeria

Algeria will feature at the IHF Men's Youth World Championship only for the fifth time in history, but their performances have been far from what they expected prior to the competitions, ending up on the 14th place in 2007 and 2009 and on the 23rd place in 2015 and 2017.

After a six-year hiatus, the African side will make their comeback in the world handball flagship competition, but their path to this moment has been difficult to say the least, as they snatched the last qualifying place for Croatia 2023 at the 2022 CAHB African Men's Youth Handball Championship.

Algeria finished on the third place in their group in the preliminary round in the continental competition after a painful loss against Egypt, 19:43, a win against Madagascar (42:19), and a draw against Rwanda (30:30), boasting an inferior goal difference compared to their opponents.

It meant that Algeria failed to make the semi-finals and went to the Placement Match 5/6, where they clearly dominated Uganda (44:31) to snatch their fifth berth for the IHF Men's Youth World Championship, but without an experienced side, their chances will be slim to none as all their players are featuring in the domestic league.

At Croatia 2023, Algeria were drawn into Group A, alongside hosts Croatia and another European powerhouse in Portugal, where they will be big underdogs, but they also have a rematch against rivals Rwanda, where they can avenge the draw that kept them from playing in the semi-finals at the 2022 CAHB African Men's Youth Handball Championship.

Key players: Boukhari Abdelmalek (left back), Hamdaoui Salah Eddine (centre back), Saidi Mohamed Nazim (centre back)
Qualification for Croatia 2023: 2022 CAHB African Men's Youth Handball Championship – 5th place
History in the tournament: 2007: 14th, 2009: 14th, 2015: 23rd, 2017: 23rd 

Group B

• Hungary

Hungary have been establishing themselves as a true powerhouse in the younger age categories in both men's and women's handball, but they still have not won a medal yet at the IHF Men's Youth World Championship. Their best result was a fifth place at North Macedonia 2019, after finishing on the 10th place both in 2013 and 2015.

However, a bigger emphasis was put on developing young talent, as seen in June, at the IHF Men's Junior World Championship, when Hungary secured the silver medal after making the semi-finals for the first time since 2005, and the objective is clearly a place among the top sides in the world at Croatia 2023 too.

This generation was already tested last summer, at the M18 EHF EURO 2022, when they finished on the fourth place after a strong start was replaced by two painful losses, first against Sweden in the semi-finals, 30:33, and then in the bronze medal game against Germany, 22:29.

Once again, the key of Hungary's side is the depth, with plenty of experienced players who already made their debut in the strong Hungarian league, but there is also a star of the team, centre back Kristóf Csörgo, who has shined at the M18 EHF EURO 2022, being the top scorer of the side.

Csörgo picked up where he left off in the preparation matches for Croatia 2023, putting 13 goals past North Macedonia in two friendly matches, which were won by Hungary, 31:27 and 34:27, with Akos Kis' side being once again considered one of the top favourites to win a medal.

Their way to the knockout phase looks interesting, being favourites in Group B of the preliminary round against Slovenia, Morocco and New Zealand, but any path to the knockout phase runs through a battle against hosts Croatia.

Key players: Kristóf Csörgo (centre back), Tamás Kovács (left back), Roland Terjék (left wing)
Qualification for Croatia 2023: M18 EHF EURO 2022 – 4th place 
History in the tournament: 2013: 10th, 2015: 10th, 2019: 5th 

• Slovenia

For a country with limited resources in terms of the number of handball players, Slovenia have constantly outdone themselves, with excellent talent being brought in front, true stalwarts being developed over the last years, which enabled the senior team to stay relevant, even in the context of a generational change.

This will be the sixth consecutive edition of the IHF Men’s Youth World Championship where Slovenia feature on the card, yet this generation will have plenty to improve from their previous performance in a major international tournament after they ended up on the 11th place at the M18 EHF EURO 2022.

Last summer, Slovenia had only two wins under their belt, against Montenegro and the Faroe Islands, too little for a country which was used to good performances, one that finished in the top 10 at the IHF Men’s Youth World Championship in their first three appearances, with a silver medal sealed in 2015.

That was a generation boasting Blaž Janc, Jaka Malus or Aleks Vlah in their roster, with Slovenia failing to produce that same amount of talent, albeit they have some natural born scorers in this squad, with Nejc Hriberšek, Malik Mlivic or Mai Marguč shining in the previous competitions.

If Slovenia want to return to the top 10 of the IHF Men’s Youth World Championship, their work will be cut out, with a difficult path towards the knockout phase as their game against Hungary is due to shape the outcome of their performance at Croatia 2023 before a main round where they could face hosts Croatia.

Key players: Mai Marguč (right back), Nejc Hriberšek (centre back), Malik Mlivic (left back)
Qualification for Croatia 2023: M18 EHF EURO 2022 – 11th place 
History in the tournament: 2011: 9th, 2013: 8th, 2015: 2nd, 2017: 13th, 2019: 15th 

• Morocco

After the first three editions of the IHF Men's Youth World Championship, where they ended up on the 10th place in 2005, the 15th place in 2007 and the 20th place in 2009, Morocco failed to make it to the world handball flagship competition, constantly disappointing in their continental qualifiers.

However, this time around, after a 14-year hiatus, the African side will be back between the top teams in the world, having made it to Croatia 2023, after a nearly-flawless performance at the 2022 CAHB African Men's Youth Handball Championship.

In fact, Morocco could have made it to the final, after starting the competition with three wins in a row in the preliminary round, but failed to secure another win against Rwanda in the semi-finals, dropping the game (34:35) before bouncing back in the bronze medal game against Burundi (41:34).

Morocco still had the second best defence in the competition, which will be heavily tested, though, at Croatia 2023, with the African side eyeing to clinch a better finish than the last one, 20th, in 2009, yet that means a least a win in the preliminary round, where they face Hungary, Slovenia and New Zealand.

Clearly, Morocco will be underdogs against the European sides, due to their lack of experience, with only a handful of players featuring in French academies, but will surely aim to clinch a win against New Zealand.

Key players: Hamza Ouafik (centre back), Abdellah Razgui (left back), Amine Bilghoul (line player)
Qualification for Croatia 2023: 2022 CAHB African Men's Youth Handball Championship – 3rd place
History in the tournament: 2005: 10th, 2007: 15th, 2009: 20th

• New Zealand

This is not the first time when New Zealand take part in the IHF Men’s Youth World Championship, with their first appearance coming at Argentina 2011, when they ended up on the last place, the 20th, with six losses from six matches and a big gap in terms of the goal difference, 97:307.

After a 12-year hiatus, they are coming back to the world handball flagship competition, but New Zealand’s ambitions are definitely toned down, with the only objective at Croatia 2023 being to hand their players some much-needed experience before making the big step towards the junior and senior categories.

New Zealand sealed their berth for Croatia 2023 at the IHF Trophy Oceania last autumn when they finished on the second place behind Tahiti, but due to Tahiti’s status as associated members, the runners-up, New Zealand, secured the spot instead.

With all the players in the squad plying their trade domestically in New Zealand, there is not much experience in the roster, with the Oceania side needing a miracle to take something from the first three games in the preliminary round against Hungary, Slovenia and Morocco.

Later in the tournament, New Zealand might target a win, avoiding to finishing last in the competition, with the Pringot brothers, Hector and Paul, running the back line with good results in the past and they hope to do the same at Croatia 2023.

Key players: Hector Pringot (right back), Paul Pringot (left back), Josh Bruce-Campbell (centre back)
Qualification for Croatia 2023: 2022 IHF Trophy Oceania – 2nd place
History in the tournament: 2011: 20th 

Photos: Kathi Sándor / Handball Federation New Zealand