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.

Reigning champions Egypt will have their work cut out in Group C, where they face two European sides – Iceland and Czechia – and a plucky Asian team, Japan, which is always looking to spring a surprise or two ahead of their opponents.

Egypt are a true powerhouse and totally dominated the CAHB African Men’s Youth Handball Championship last summer, winning the final against Rwanda (51:29), but they will need to pay attention, despite Czechia’s lack of experience at this level, with the European side making their debut at the IHF Men’s Youth World Championship.

On the other side, it will be the fifth consecutive appearance for Japan in the competition. They have improved well over the last years, enough to take the 8th place at Georgia 2017 and the 9th place at North Macedonia 2019, their only top 10 finishes in the competition.

Reigning European champions Spain, who sealed the title last summer at the M18 EHF EURO 2022, will also face some serious challenges in a well-balanced Group D, to be played in Koprivnica, with two Asian and one South American opponents.

Neither Brazil nor Bahrain impressed at their continental championships last summer. At the same time, the Republic of Korea are the Asian champions after sweeping their opponents, including the Islamic Republic of Iran, in the final (26:22) at the 2022 AHF Asian Men’s Youth Handball Championship.

Group C

• Egypt

Four years ago, Egypt became the first non-European side to clinch the trophy at the IHF Men's Youth World Championship, with an excellent generation spearheaded by Abdelrahman Mohamed, Hassan Walid and Ahmed Hesham.

It was a flawless performance delivered by the African side, which qualified for every edition of the world handball flagship competition at this younger age category but had never finished higher than the fifth place in 2007 and 2011.

With huge potential, Egypt are back for Croatia 2023 with a clear eye on retaining their title, after they totally dominated their opponents at the 2022 CAHB African Men's Youth Handball Championship. 

In the preliminary round, they outscored their rivals by 88 goals in three matches, 43:19 against Algeria, 44:30 against Rwanda and 64:14 against Madagascar, forcing their way to the final with a clear 66:22 win over Burundi.

There was no question about the winners of the title last summer, as Egypt produced yet another attacking masterpiece against Rwanda, 51:29, in a display of total domination, which confirmed their superiority.

This time around, though, the competition will be tougher, as Egypt's credentials will be definitely tested against Iceland, Japan and Czechia, with the reigning champions facing some tough opponents on their way to the trophy.

With excellent wings and some strong centre backs, all being developed at the top teams in Egypt, experience might be an issue, but the enthusiasm Egypt usually bring to the table could prove decisive once again, as the African champions are definitely a tough nut to crack.

Key players: Belal Masoud (left wing), Mohamed Elsayed (centre back), Moaz Azab (line player)
Qualification for Croatia 2023: 2022 CAHB African Men's Youth Handball Championship – 1st
History in the tournament: 2005: 6th, 2007: 5th, 2009: 12th, 2011: 5th, 2013: 14th, 2015: 15th, 2017: 14th, 2019: 1st

• Iceland

In their first two appearances at the IHF Men’s Youth World Championship, Iceland secured medals twice, the silver in 2019 and then the bronze in 2015, with a six-year hiatus between them sealing berths for the final tournament in the world handball flagship competition.

They will be at the start for the fourth consecutive edition after taking the 10th place in 2017 and the eighth place in 2019, but the Nordic side still has plenty to improve, as their performances have dropped over the last years.

Iceland made the final cut at Croatia 2023 after finishing on the 10th place at the M18 EHF EURO 2022, but they were hardly impressive in the competition with a single win in the preliminary round against Poland, only bouncing back in the intermediate round with wins over Montenegro and Italy.

However, their recent performances have been truly impressive, with a 34:27 win over the Netherlands and a 27:21 win over Germany in a friendly tournament played mid-July, with some excellent performances from key players like Kjartan Þór Júlíusson and Reynir Þór Stefánsson.

Iceland will surely need more of that at the 2023 IHF Men’s Youth World Championship, where they are featuring in what projects to be the most balanced group in the preliminary round, with fellow European side Czechia, a plucky Japan team and the reigning champions Egypt, who will definitely aim to secure another medal.

Key players: Isak Steinsson (goalkeeper), Kjartan Þór Júlíusson (right back), Reynir Þór Stefánsson (left back)
Qualification for Croatia 2023: M18 EHF EURO 2022 – 10th place 
History in the tournament: 2009: 2nd, 2015: 3rd, 2017: 10th, 2019: 8th 

• Japan

Since making their debut at the IHF Men's Youth World Championship in 2013, Japan have been constantly improving their status in the subsequent three editions they took part in. At Georgia 2017 and North Macedonia 2019, they even broke through into the top 10, ending up on the eighth place in 2017 and on the ninth place in 2019.

This time around, though, Japan will have their work cut out if they want to seal another finish in the first ten places, as this means the Asian side needs to progress to the main round, which will certainly be difficult in a well-balanced group, probably the toughest at Croatia 2023, where they face reigning champions Egypt and two European sides in Iceland and Czechia.

Their credentials will certainly be tested, especially after a disappointing outing last summer at the 2022 AHF Asian Men's Youth Handball Championship, where they started well, finishing on the second place in the preliminary round, but finished with three consecutive losses to miss out on a medal.

In the semi-finals, Japan conceded a 21:23 loss against the Republic of Korea, while the bronze medal match was lost against Saudi Arabia by the slightest of margins, 24:25, which highlighted Japan's potential but also proved there is plenty to grow.

Over the last years, serious emphasis was put on developing good back players and it looks like everything works towards that goal after Naoki Fujisaka finished as the top goal scorer at the 2023 IHF Men's Junior World Championship. Key players for this side are also back players who impressed at the 2022 AHF Asian Men's Youth Handball Championship, like Kippei Furukawa or Koshiro Hori, who can both create chances and shoot from distance.

Key players: Kippei Furukawa (right back), Masaki Sakai (right back), Koshiro Hori (centre back)
Qualification for Croatia 2023: 2022 AHF Asian Men's Youth Handball Championship – 4th place
History in the tournament: 2013: 17th, 2015: 20th, 2017: 8th, 2019: 9th

• Czechia

Six teams will be making their debuts at the IHF Men’s Youth World Championship and Czechia are one of the three European sides to play for the first time in the competition, alongside Montenegro and the Faroe Islands.

While the other two sides earned their berths through the M18 EHF EURO 2022, Czechia secured their tickets to Croatia 2023 via one of the three M18 EHF Championships, clinching the title in a hard-fought final against Israel, 25:24, in Tel Aviv, after claiming four wins in their previous four matches.

At this level, the main issue for Czechia is clearly the lack of experience, with virtually all of their players who will make the trip to Croatia featuring in the domestic league, where they are getting regular time, yet not at the highest level.

Add into the mix the group they were drawn into – alongside reigning champions Egypt, a European powerhouse like Iceland and a plucky team like Japan – Czechia will surely have their work cut out, having never faced such difficult opponents in official matches until now.

Their hopes will come from the back line, where Jonas Josef and Mikuláš Macur were excellent at the M18 EHF Championship 2022, while right wing Daniel Erebai is also a player to watch, a prototype of the modern wing player.

Key players: Jonas Josef (left back), Daniel Erebai (right wing), Mikuláš Macur (right back)
Qualification for Croatia 2023: M18 EHF Championship 2022 – 1st
History in the tournament: Debutants 

Group D

• Spain

Spain have been a true powerhouse in the younger age categories over the last years, but they have never won a gold medal at the IHF Men’s Youth World Championship, conceding losses in both finals played so far, at Argentina 2011 and at Georgia 2017.

“Los Hispanos” will undoubtedly be one of the favourites to clinch another medal at Croatia 2023, having secured their berth last summer with an outstanding display at the M18 EHF EURO 2022, where they thoroughly dominated their opponents, winning all the seven games they played on the way to the title.

From that team, Spain have retained the majority of players, without a lot of reshuffling, which is a huge advantage from the start, including the two members of the side which made the All-Star team at the M18 EHF EURO 2022, right wing Xavier González Unciti and right back Djordje Cikusa Jelicic. 

Both Djordje and his brother, Petar Cikusa Jelicic, are in the squad and have a huge potential, while right wing González Unciti and centre back Ferran Castillo Oliveras were their team’s top scorers one summer ago.

Spain’s morale has also been boosted by three wins sealed two weeks before the tournament, two against Montenegro and one against Hungary with Los Hispanos’ attack functioning at high parameters just before the start of Croatia 2023.

Having never finished outside the top 10 in their history at the IHF Men’s Youth World Championship, Spain look primed to challenge for the trophy this time around too, being clear favourites in Group D, where they face the Republic of Korea, Brazil and Bahrain, a start which definitely helps them get into gear.

Key players: Petar Cikusa Jelicic (centre back), Djordje Cikusa Jelicic (right back), Xavier González Unciti (right wing)
Qualification for Croatia 2023: M18 EHF EURO 2022 – 1st
History in the tournament: 2007: 7th, 2009: 6th 2011: 2nd, 2013: 4th, 2015: 4th, 2017: 2nd, 2019: 7th

• Republic of Korea

In the first edition of the IHF Men's Youth World Championship, the Republic of Korea secured the silver medal after a painful loss against Serbia and Montenegro in the final played in Qatar, 23:39.

Since then, the Republic of Korea have played in five different editions of the world handball flagship competition at this age category, but have never made the top 10 again, with their best finishes coming in 2007 and 2011, the 11th place.

After a six-year hiatus, the Republic of Korea are back at the IHF Men's Youth World Championship after a superb performance at the 2022 AHF Asian Men's Youth Handball Championship, where they won six games out of six to secure their first title since 2014.

A mix of strong defence, underlined by the wins against Japan in the semi-final, 23:21, and in the final against the Islamic Republic of Iran, 25:22, and some excellent fast breaks, was the main reason for the Republic of Korea's win, with the same recipe being expected to be applied at Croatia 2023.

Whether that defence will manage to deliver the same performances in the first three games of the preliminary round in the competition is still to be seen, but the Republic of Korea will be underdogs against reigning European champions Spain when the two continental champions clash early in the competition.

The Asian side will be favourites against Bahrain, whom they won against at the 2022 AHF Asian Men's Youth Handball Championship in the preliminary round, 39:22, while the do-or-die game for a place in the main round will be the clash against Brazil.

Key players: Mingi Son (right wing), Geonyung Lee (right back), Ho Lim (centre back)
Qualification for Croatia 2023: 2022 AHF Asian Men's Youth Handball Championship – 1st
History in the tournament: 2005: 2nd, 2007: 11th, 2011: 11th 2013: 21st, 2015: 13th, 2017: 12th

• Brazil

This will be the eighth consecutive appearance for Brazil at the IHF Men's Youth World Championship, with the South American side missing out only on the maiden edition of the competition in 2005.

Their results have been somewhat of a mixed bag, with their top finish being the eighth place in 2015, while two other top 10 finishes came in 2007 and 2013, when Brazil ended up on the ninth place in the final standings.

This time around, Brazil have plenty of potential, like they always do, but they will be coming with a great hunger of performance, after conceding the title in the 2022 South and Central American Men's Youth Handball Championship, a competition where they took the trophy home in 2019.

After a convincing preliminary round in which they totally dominated their opponents while also clinching a clear 39:18 win in the semi-final over Chile, Brazil failed to produce a top performance in the final against arch-rivals Argentina, conceding a painful 19:26 loss.

Therefore, their objective will be to break through to the main round here, riding on the excellent potential of backs Vinicius Bertoldo and Giuliano Bove Gomes, both bred by powerhouse Handebol Taubaté, but their work will be cut out with a tough group, facing Spain, the Republic of Korea and Bahrain, teams with different styles, which can exert pressure on Brazil.

Key players: Vinicius Bertoldo (centre back), Giuliano Bove Gomes (centre back), Henrique Serafim Santos Silva (line player)
Qualification for Croatia 2023: 2022 South and Central American Men's Youth Handball Championship – 2nd place
History in the tournament: 2007: 9th, 2009: 15th, 2011: 12th, 2013: 9th, 2015: 8th, 2017: 19th, 2019: 21st 

• Bahrain

Since hosting the IHF Men's Youth World Championship in 2007, Bahrain have put a great emphasis on creating excellent teams which can feed the senior men's side, but over the last years they simply could not rise to the challenge.

The highlight was winning two titles at the AHF Asian Men's Youth Handball Championship in 2016 and 2018, but they failed to replicate those performances at the IHF Men's Youth World Championship, finishing 22nd in 2017 and 17th in 2019, with only four wins in the past two editions.

However, some of those wins were interesting, against Serbia or Denmark, which underlined the Asian side's potential and their penchant for surprises, like they just did in June at the IHF Men's Junior World Championship when they clinched a draw against Slovenia and progressed to the main round.

Some other upsets might be on the cards, but Bahrain are definitely the underdogs of this group D at Croatia 2023, where they face Spain, the Republic of Korea and Brazil, especially after their performance last summer at the 2022 AHF Asian Men's Youth Handball Championship.

While they finished only on the fifth place, snatching the ticket to Croatia 2023 only after a 27:21 win over Kuwait in the Placement Match 5/6, their results were simply not up to par, with a big loss against the Republic of Korea (22:39) in the preliminary round and against the Islamic Republic of Iran, which means that the Asian side will have to improve steadily to challenge for a better finish than the 17th place in their last participation in the IHF Men's Youth World Championship.

Key players: Jaffar Farsan (left back), Mohamed Abdulla (centre back), Husain Alhayki (centre back)
Qualification for Croatia 2023: 2022 AHF Asian Men's Youth Handball Championship – 5th place
History in the tournament: 2007: 8th, 2011: 17th, 2017: 22nd, 2019: 17th 

Photos: African Handball Confederation / Asian Handball Federation