Brazil are the second-highest ranked side from the 2025 IHF Men’s Youth Beach Handball World Championship to be present at Dakar 2026, with the bronze medallists only behind silver medallists Germany as champions Spain are not competing in the men’s tournament in Senegal.

With that profile comes expectation, not least from a country which is the spiritual home to the sport and has provided some of the world’s best players and winners of numerous world titles in the discipline since its formative years in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Dakar 2026 group opponents Senegal were defeated 2-0 (21:10, 30:12) in Brazil’s opening game at Tunisia 2025, a result which was followed up by a 2-1 victory over Uruguay. A disappointing 2-0 loss against Argentina saw a less smooth main round progression, but Brazil fired on all cylinders in the second stage, taking wins against Thailand (2-0), Tunisia (2-1) and Mexico (2-0) to ease into the quarter-finals.

In the last eight, Oman were downed 2-0, but the score was reversed in the semi-final against the eventual champions Spain. The South American side were then able to regroup in the bronze medal match, defeating Hungary – another Dakar 2026 opponent – 2-1 (24:18, 18:20, SO 14:12).

The third and final team which make up Brazil’s preliminary group are Puerto Rico and coach Jose Nilton Cardozo JUNIOR is looking forward to the challenge in West Africa.

“Group B is a very strong group, with the hosts Senegal who have been preparing for some time and will have their fans supporting them. Hungary are from a strong European school in the sport and who played a very hard game against us when we won bronze at the last IHF Youth Beach Handball World Championship in Tunisia, in a game decided via shoot-out. Puerto Rico are also very good team from the American continent,” he explained to IHF.info.

“We arrive in Dakar with the aim of holding a good competition representing our country, Brazil, which has a huge tradition in the sport. We know the difficulty and high level of the teams there so each step will be taken with humility and will be very important. We will be focused on having a good Youth Olympic Games debut and qualifying from out group so we can fight for a medal, which would be historic for our country.”

Coach JUNIOR has been able to name six players from his Tunisia squad for Dakar 2026, one of the highest proportions in Senegal, despite the age restrictions in place for the Youth Olympic Games.

These include Tiago Pimenta de Souza AZEVEDO, Kaike Garcia SILVEIRA, Tulio Torres CASTRO, Luiz Henryck Fernandes FERREIRA, Raphael Araujo Pereira MARTINS and Talisson Raniel Lima DE ANDRADE.

Goalkeeper AZEVEDO is one of the key players for Brazil, having been named in the Tunisia All-star Team, thanks to his performances throughout their nine games which included an incredible eight saves on average per game, with a 31% save rate.

“The Brazilian Handball Confederation (CBHb), through its beach handball department, is extremely proud and delighted to send the Brazilian men’s under 17 beach handball national team to the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games. This historic participation represents a significant milestone for Brazilian beach handball and for the continued development of our sport worldwide,” said a statement from the CBHb on the eve of the event.

“With the valuable support of the Brazilian Olympic Committee (COB) and Team Brazil, we are fully committed to providing our athletes and coaching staff with the best possible conditions to compete at the highest level and proudly represent our country on the Olympic stage. We are going to Dakar with the dream of reaching the podium and achieving the best possible result for Brazil.

“We firmly believe that the participation of beach handball in Dakar 2026 will open new doors, inspire future generations, and contribute significantly to the growth of our sport around the world.”

Nathalie SENA, a recently-retired legendary beach handball player for Brazil’s multiple medal-winning women’s side, is now working for the CBHb as the General Supervisor of Beach Handball and cannot wait for the competition to get underway.

“For the Brazilian Handball Confederation, participating in the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games goes far beyond competition. It represents years of dedication, investment, hard work, and the collective efforts of athletes, coaches, technical staff, clubs, federations, and everyone who believes in the future of beach handball,” said SENA, who played in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games ‘IHF Beach Handball Showcase’.

“We are proud of our athletes, confident in their preparation, and excited about the opportunity to represent Brazil at this historic Olympic event. Our mission is to compete with passion, determination, respect, and the Brazilian spirit, always striving for excellence and dreaming of bringing an Olympic medal home.

“We wish all participating national teams a successful competition and look forward to celebrating this extraordinary moment for international beach handball.”

Coach: Jose Nilton Cardozo JUNIOR
Key players: Tiago Pimenta de Souza AZEVEDO (Goalkeeper), Kaike Garcia SILVEIRA (Pivot), Talisson Raniel Lima DE ANDRADE (Left Wing)
Qualification information: Tunisia 2025 – 3rd, South and Central America representative place
History in tournament: 2018: 5th
Group at Dakar 2026: Group B – Brazil (BRA), Hungary (HUN), Puerto Rico (PUR), Senegal (SEN)