Hungary, Spain, Norway and Egypt extended their winning streaks at the 2025 IHF Men’s Youth World Championship to three matches, locking in the first place in their groups of the preliminary round and ensuring they start the main round with two points.

Down four goals at the break, Egypt stunned Japan with a fantastic comeback in the second half, outscoring their opponents by 12 goals to secure a 36:28 win.Norway and Spain hit over 40 goals against France and Serbia, while Hungary dished a 39:29 win against Switzerland.

Group B
Hungary vs Switzerland 39:29 (21:16)

Hungary imposed their dominance from the first minute, making it clear to Switzerland that this would be no easy contest. With disciplined defensive movement, they forced the Swiss into mistakes and punished them clinically, moving into an early 9:5 lead.

That margin held for much of the opening 20 minutes, as Hungary struggled to extend the gap beyond six goals. Switzerland remained within reach largely thanks to goalkeeper Gwendal Dussey, who delivered an impressive 50% save rate after coming on, and Tiago Cuencas, who scored eight in the first half. On the Hungarian side, Ádám Balogh was impactful in goal, while Máté Mészáros proved dangerous in attack.

After the break, Dussey and Cuencas continued to carry Switzerland, now joined by Andrin Dörwald, yet the rest of the squad could not match Hungary’s pace. The breakthrough came when Hungary finally broke the six-goal barrier, pushing the lead into double digits and entering the last ten minutes with the result effectively decided. From there, the hosts closed out the match in full control.

In total, 13 different outfield players scored for Hungary, with Máté Mészáros producing his best performance at the tournament so far, netting 11 goals to bring his overall tally to 16. Cuencas finished as Switzerland’s top scorer with nine goals.

Hungary celebrated their third straight win at the IHF Men’s Youth World Championship, topping the group and carrying two points into the main round, alongside Sweden. Switzerland, like their neighbours Austria, will start the next stage on zero points.

Player of the Match: Máté Mészáros (Hungary)

Group C
Serbia vs Spain 24:42 (15:22)

In a clash between two teams that had already secured their main round places, reigning champions Spain delivered a commanding attacking performance to record their third consecutive win. With this result, Spain will carry two points into the main round, while Serbia enter the next phase without any points.

Although Serbia led briefly at 1:0 and 2:1 in the early minutes, Spain swiftly gained control, moving ahead 4:2 and later delivering an impressive 5:0 run to increase the advantage to 13:7—remarkably, without a single save from their starting goalkeeper, Nicolas Giraldez. The Spanish defensive block compensated by forcing numerous Serbian turnovers, enabling Spain to build a seven-goal halftime lead at 22:15.

After the break, Marcos Garcia replaced Giraldez in goal, making a significant impact with 10 saves that further solidified Spain’s dominance. By the middle of the second half, the reigning champions led by 12 goals at 32:20 and soon after produced a 4:0 run to widen the gap even further. Quim Rocas and Unai Barreto led Spanish scorers with six goals each, while Andrija Stankov top-scored for Serbia with nine goals, yet he lacked sufficient support from his teammates.

With the result long settled before the final buzzer, Spain rotated their squad extensively, conserving energy for the upcoming main round challenges. Demonstrating the depth of their roster, 13 Spanish players found the net at least once, and the team maintained their intensity until the end, ultimately securing an emphatic 18-goal victory.

Player of the Match: Marcos Fis (Spain)

Group F
Norway vs France 42:34 (21:17)

Norway and France fully lived up to expectations in their battle for the top spot in the group. Both teams had recorded convincing wins in their previous matches, but this time it was Norway who came out on top with another high-scoring performance.

France started the match with confidence, taking a 6:4 lead, but once Norway settled and found their rhythm, the momentum shifted. Lukas Ueland contributed key saves, while an inspired Vetle Mellemstrand Bore struck seven goals in the first half alone. Norway equalised and then went on a run to lead 13:10, before Hlini Snær Birgisson added his mark to help extend the gap to 20:13. France, however, fought back with a 4:0 run before halftime, reducing the deficit to four goals.

France maintained that competitive edge in the early stages of the second half, but Norway quickly regained control. A strong burst of scoring, capped by Ciljan Sagosen — younger brother of Sander Sagosen — pushing the lead to 31:21, left France with no way back.

Norway ultimately sealed a 42:34 victory, with Mellemstrand Bore earning Player of the Match honours for his 11 goals. He now sits as the tournament’s second-highest scorer with 30 goals overall. France’s standout was Noé Thuillier, whose perfect eight from eight kept their scoreboard ticking.

This was the second time Norway surpassed the 40-goal mark at Egypt 2025, confirming them as group winners with two points carried into the main round. France will need a perfect run in the next phase, where they will meet Germany — who also carry two points — and Slovenia.

Player of the Match: Vetle Mellemstrand Bore (Norway) 

Group G
Egypt vs Japan 36:28 (14:18)

Winning the first two matches at the 2025 IHF Men’s Youth World Championship was enough for hosts Egypt to clinch their main round spot. But starting the next phase with two points was only going to be achieved if they beat Japan, in the last match of Group G in Cairo, in the battle between the African and the Asian champions.

Egypt looked to play the favourites part, but the underdog mantle suited Japan well, as they always performed better under pressure, with their clinical speed causing issues to all their opponents.

While Japan’s attack really looked strong, this time it was the goalkeeping department which really propelled the Asian side to a four-goal lead at the break. As Egypt started the match better and dictated the tempo, Kodai Yasumizu’s saves kept Japan in the match and from a 9:7 lead for Egypt, this quickly turned into a 16:12 Japan lead.

How did that happen? Yasumizu finished the first half with 10 saves and a 43% saving efficiency, while Egypt’s goalkeepers, Youssef Abdelhady and Omar Elzamayan, had only two saves between them, for a 10% saving efficiency. And when Egypt’s attack was slowly stopped by Yasumizu, the attack pounced.

A 4:0 run for Japan, part of that 9:3 larger run in the middle of the first half, proved to be decisive, as the MVP of the 2024 AHF Asian Men’s Youth Championship, centre back Masato Ohashi, scored four goals, and dictated the tempo. By the end of the first half, Japan had a four-goal lead, 18:14, and everything was in play, with Japan now firmly in contention for a win, which would have definitely changed the outlook of this competition, where Egypt were in with a chance for a medal.

The odds were definitely stacked against the hosts, but one thing Egypt had in abundance was the depth, which helped them secure their previous wins. And that was on display once again, when Egypt used a 4:1 run to tie the score fast, 23:23, with 17 minutes left on the clock, as their goalkeeper, Youssef Abdelhady, started to make more saves.

And left wing Omar Baraka shrugged off a slow start to reach nine goals with 10 minutes left in the match, as Egypt finally wrestled the lead back, 25:24, with 15 minutes left on the clock.

Was that enough for Egypt to finally get the win secured, backed by thousands of rapturous fans? It definitely was, as Japan’s attack crumbled, and scored only three goals between the 48th minute and the end of the match, when Egypt went on a 11:2 run, including a 9:0 unanswered one which proved to be the pivotal moment of the match.

Left back Adel Eletter scored six goals in the match, one less than Baraka, while Abdelrahman Aly added six goals, to eventually lift Egypt to a clear 36:28 win, which delivered a fantastic comeback, down four goals at the break.

Egypt will now head to Group IV of the main round with two points, tied with Denmark, facing Czechia and the Scandinavian side. Japan will start with zero points, as many as Czechia, and with slim chances, needing two surprising wins to progress.

Player of the Match: Adel Eletter (Egypt)