The semi-finals of the 1st IHF Men’s Under-17 World Championship are upon us in Casablanca, Morocco, with Germany taking on Qatar, while Spain battle against Egypt. The winners will qualify for the title match on Saturday.

SEMI-FINALS

• 17:45 WEST Germany vs Qatar
• 20:15 WEST Spain vs Egypt

PLACEMENT MATCHES 5-8

• 13:00 WEST Argentina vs United States of America
• 15:15 WEST Brazil vs Tunisia

Which are the semi-finals pairings? Spain vs Egypt and Germany vs Qatar. Germany were the top seeded team, being the best group winners, with six points and a +86 goal difference in the preliminary round, three goals better than Spain. Therefore, they meet Qatar, which was the best second-placed side, while the other two group winners – Spain (six points, +83) and Egypt (six points, +41) face off in the other semi-final.

What to expect? An all-European final is possible in the inaugural edition of the IHF Men’s Under-17 World Championship, but three continents are represented in the semi-finals, with Europe having both teams which started the competition, while Africa and Asia have one. And, of course, judging from a numerical standpoint, Spain and Germany will be favoured.

Spain (146 goals) and Germany (143 goals) have scored the largest number of goals in the competition, while Egypt (109) and Qatar (107) are way behind, scoring at least 10 goals less per match. The two European sides also have the best defence, with Germany conceding only 57 goals, while Spain have 63 goals conceded so far.  Both Spain and Germany have scored at least 40 goals in each match and Spain have dominated Qatar, 41:24.

Germany and Spain also have the top goalkeepers in the competition, with Germany’s Kim Hüter (46.1% saving efficiency) and Tobias Dengler (43,4%) and Spain’s Albert Quesada (42.6%) and Rubén Cardenosa López (40,4%) leading the way. They also have impressive depth: Germany had all players score at least one goal in two of their three matches and 10 different scorers against Argentina, while Spain had 12, 14 and 11 players enter the scoresheet in their three matches so far.

But can Egypt and Qatar pull together a surprise? Qatar have three of the best 10 scorers in the competition, including the top scorer, Ahmed Elsayed. Egypt also have a good goalkeeping department (30,6% saving efficiency), just behind Qatar’s 31,1%. Egypt also do not turn over the ball as much as other teams, with only 29 turnovers in this competition, just behind Spain and Germany. Provided the African powerhouse starts the match fast, things can go their way.