Argentina and Egypt also secured big wins over Puerto Rico and Brazil respectively, as the African side is now the leader of the group.

GROUP A
Egypt vs Brazil 35:26 (17:11)

Having finished second in the continental championship behind Argentina, Brazil had a tough opponent in their maiden match at the 1st IHF Men’s Under-17 World Championship, but the South American team provided a hefty challenge in the first part of the encounter against Egypt.

Traditionally a powerhouse on the world stage in the younger age categories, Egypt saw themselves down early, but they collected themselves and starting turning the screws on Brazil, which lost left wing Raphael De Santos early in the match, due to a red card for a foul against right wing Hamza Elsaid.

With two more suspensions coming their way in the first half, Brazil started to lose their cool and Egypt took full advantage, as wing Yassien Ramadan and back Zein Ismail provided some huge goals in the first half. Two 3:0 runs for Egypt started setting the scene and the African side opened a maximum eight-goal lead, 16:8, after 24 minutes.

It was the point of no return for Brazil, which relied too heavily on centre back Eduardo Rodrigues, who was the fulcrum of their attack, with four goals and four assists throughout the match, but also with nine missed shots and six turnovers.

While Rodrigues tried everything with his fast changeups and potent breakthroughs, Egypt’s defence realligned quickly and eventually learnt how to stop him, providing some excellent cover for goalkeeper Abdelmalak Mabrouk, who finished the match with 12 saves and a 32% saving efficiency.

The gap ballooned to 12 goals with 10 minutes left, 32:20, but Brazil eventually managed to provide a better finish in the match, using a 4:0 run to keep Egypt’s lead in single digits, with the African side eventually clinching a 35:26 win.

Ramadan was the top scorer of the match, with 10 goals, with Zein Ismail following with seven goals, as the two combined for almost half of Egypt’s 35 goals in the 60 minutes of the match.

Player of the Match: Zein Ismail (Egypt)

GROUP C
Argentina vs Puerto Rico 43:25 (15:13)

The first 15 minutes of this match would have never led anyone imagine the outcome, with Argentina jumping to an 18-goal win against Puerto Rico, 43:25, but after nine minutes, Puerto Rico were up by four goals, 5:1.

Nothing worked for Argentina in any capacity, not in defence, nor in attack, but as soon as the South and Central American team started revving up their engines, nothing seemed to work for Puerto Rico.

First, Argentina used a 5:0 unanswered run between the 12th and the 17th minutes, to wrestle back the lead and establish a two-goal lead, 9:7. Puerto Rico bounced back and tied the score, but once again Argentina went on a 5:0 scoring spree to ensure that they are in the lead at half-time.

Separate 3:0 runs for Argentina, backed by another 4:1 run, helped turn Argentina into the clear favourie, as they were leading by nine goals after 41 minutes, with Agustin Refojos, Lautaro Agustin Roa and Matias Svarzchtein combining for 17 goals.

As Argentina’s goalkeepers, Francisco Perez (12 saves for a 48% saving efficiency) and Nehuen Mazzaferri (eight saves for 40% saving efficiency) closed the door for Puerto Rico, the attack produced a fantastic output, with 28 goals in the second half, to lift the South American team to a clear 43:25 win, thanks to a 77% attacking efficiency.

Player of the Match: Agustin Refojos (Argentina)

GROUP A
Morocco vs United States of America 21:22 (14:10)

As hosts of the 1st IHF Men’s Under-17 World Championship, Morocco had the prerogative to choose their group and selected to play in Group A, alongside the United States of America, Egypt and Brazil.

On their opener, Morocco featured against the USA, where they were favourites and the 2.000 fans coming to cheer for their favourites in Nouaceur, in Casablanca, played their part, especially as the African side needed any help they could get against a plucky American side.

Goalkeeper Ermali Mohamed had seven saves, for a 33% saving efficiency in the first half, while centre back Idriss El Hammoumi and fellow left back El Hassan Ragueb scored four goals each, as Morocco continuously dominated the first half, opening a four-goal lead after 19 minutes, 12:8.

Both teams, however, had their fair share of turnovers, with 11 for each in the first half, but Morocco had the better shooting efficiency and were riding a four-goal lead at the break, 14:10, as they were clearly better positioned, with a clearer-cut performance than their American counterparts.

However, the match was far from over. The USA still had something left in their tank and goalkeeper Wolf Simianer had some excellent saves to throw off the second half, with the American side’s attack seriously improving.

It was also their defence which looked better and by the 43rd minute, with Morocco scoring a single goal in 10 minutes, the USA were only one goal down, 16:17, as everything was still open.

Morocco finally regained the lead, 18:17, scoring their first goal after eight minutes and 53 seconds, yet the end of the match was always going to be on a knife’s edge.

USA had two goals ahead, but Morocco bounced back, while the American side missed shot after shot. Nevertheless, USA had the better nerves, kept their cool, managed to register a steal with seven seconds left, with wing Romeo James Buclet scoring his second goal of the match in the ensuing fast break, with only two seconds left on the clock, lifting the USA to a 22:21 win.

Player of the Match: Wolf Simianer (USA)