Sunday will bring the first eight exciting clashes among the top 16 teams vying for the quarter-final spot. 12 European sides join Bahrain, Egypt, Brazil and Tunisia in the main round as the atmosphere in Magdeburg, Hanover and Athens starts to heat up.

Group I

• 18:15 CEST Croatia vs Tunisia

If Tunisia wants to repeat their last two placements at the IHF Men's Junior World Championship, when they finished in seventh place in 2017 and 2019, they need to step up the game. Starting the main round Group I as the last-placed team with zero points, a tough task awaits against Croatia and France.

Right at the start of the main round, they will enter the fray with the Croats, who reached the desired goal of going into the main round as the first-placed team with two points. They had help from France, who eliminated Poland but Andrija Nikolić's players are more determined than ever. Often called one of Croatia's most talented generations, they have much to prove. While efficient in the attack, Croatia needs to strengthen the defence and produce more fastbreaks.

Tunisia, on the other hand, earned a spot among the top 16 teams thanks to their win over their African counterparts Algeria at the start of the competition. The Tunisians, just like their senior national team, have a well-known style of play and their aggressive defence and often fast-paced, can make the European teams trouble.

• 20:30 CEST Germany vs France

The co-hosts are one of seven unbeaten teams at Germany/Greece 2023 and they will do everything to keep it that way. The third most efficient attack of the whole competition starts the main round journey as the lead of the group. In all three group phase games, Germany were efficient from all positions with left wing from Füchse Berlin, Tim Freihöfer, scoring 5.6 goals on average.

France confirmed their place in the battle for the quarter-finals after an important win over Poland on the last day of the group phase in the GETEC Arena. The French side had a narrow 26:27 against Croatia at the start of the competition as too many turnovers cost them a different outcome.

The all-European duel will bring two recognisable styles of handball and the main task for France is to penetrate the German defence with strong back shots. Having experienced centre back Mattéo Fadhuile from Tremblay, currently on 6.6 goals per game on average, will be of a certain help if Germany don't find a way to stop his masterclass.

Group II

• 15:45 CEST Portugal vs Spain

The M20 EHF EURO 2022 champions, Spain, seemed overly confident in the group phase, but they are starting the main round without points. In the last group phase match, the Faroe Islands made the Spaniards desperate, having an 11-goal lead at half-time. Rodrigo Reñone's team must now find new confidence and learn from their mistakes to keep the quarter-final dream alive.

Spain's attack scored 38 goals on average, but if they want to beat Portugal, they need to be more concentrated in defence and stop the opponent's fastbreak. As always, their main force are the wing players who have scored more than half of Spain's goals.

"We face the main round with no margin for error, fully thinking that if we fail, we will be far from the battle for the title," said Spanish head coach Rodrigo Reñone for rfebm.com.

Portugal not only is the third most efficient attack, together with Germany, but they are also the second-best defence of the competition, conceding only 19 goals per game on average. The unbeaten team of Group C had more than easy going games against Kuwait and Costa Rica, and in the decisive game against Brazil, they dominated the second half to win the group.

"It will be another excellent game between two excellent teams who respect each other a lot and we hope that this time, the outcome of the game will make us happy because, with two new points, we almost have a guaranteed place in the quarter-finals," said Portugal's top scorer André Sousa.

• 18:00 Faroe Islands vs Brazil

The Faroe Islands are determined to write history, and they are on a good way. The small country with an amazing expansion of handball in recent years has set the goal to be among the top eight teams at the IHF Men's Junior World Championship.

The Faroe Islands seemed to play easily, imposing their fast-paced handball on the opponents with 7v6 on occasions. Centre back Elias Ellefsen á Skipagøtu is the current competition's top scorer with  26 goals scored at 67% efficiency, followed by right wing Hákun West Av Teigum, who scored 24. When you add more than efficient goalkeeper duo Pauli Jacobsen-Aleksandar Lacok to the mix, you get a team who is a hard nut to crack.

Brazil is one of four non-European nations that have found their way to the main round. And while they had no problem with less experienced teams like Kuwait and Costa Rica, in the first real test at the competition, they could not keep up with Portugal. 

South and Central American Men's Junior Handball Championship winners will test their defence, the fourth-best in the competition, against the strong European side. Their main help could be goalkeeper William Da Silva Santos, their best player against Portugal.

 

 

Group III

• 16:30 CEST (17:30 EEST) Hungary vs Bahrain

Bahrain will try to make yet another upset at the competition after securing a place in their first-ever placement among the top 16. Led by the left back Mohamed Rabia, who scored 23 goals, Bahrain are determined to go even further. Bahrain had a win against Slovenia in their hands, but the game ended in a draw after Slovenia's last-gasp goal, a draw that delivered the main round.

However, the Asian side will not have it easy against another European team. More experienced players with EHF Champions League games are an equal or better opponent than Sweden, who beat Bahrain in the group phase by 17:35. 

Consequently, Bahrain need to overcome their attacking deficit and find a better way to play with wing players and minimise technical errors if they want to have a chance to keep the contest close. Hungary were unbeaten, defeating two Scandinavian sides, Norway and Denmark, with ease, and they will transfer the same equally good play in both ways in both games at Ano Liosia Olympic Hall in Athens.

• 18:45 CEST (19:45 EEST) Sweden vs Denmark

The Scandinavian power will take over the court in Ano Liosia Olympic Hall as Sweden and Denmark will face each other at the start of the main round. Denmark are starting off with zero points after a great battle with Hungary. Denmark had a drop in efficiency in the second half, which lead to a 28:33 defeat.

The Danish side will have to produce their best performance against Sweden if they want to qualify for the quarter-finals. Early momentum and one-on-one play can be decisive against Sweden, which are currently one of the best teams in the competition.

Sweden have the second-best attack in the competition, scoring 41 on average while boasting the best defence, conceding only 18 goals. A win over Denmark will open the door to the quarter-finals, and the fourth-placed team of the M20 EHF EURO 2022 will go all-in to make it happen.

Group IV

• 16:30 CEST (17:30 EEST) Iceland vs Greece

Co-hosts Greece need to find new confidence and make the most of the great support they have in Athens after a tough defeat against Egypt at the end of the group phase. Nikos Georgiadis' team were in front and dominated for 40 minutes of the game when Egypt had a blistering start and made a comeback and won 36:30.

Greek key player, right back Achilleas Toskas, will once again be their stronghold, but it is yet to be seen how they will cope with Icelandic fast-paced handball. Both sides have an equally efficient attack, but Iceland's defence could be a problem for the co-hosts.

Even though it is hard to compare the games from different group phase games with different level of opponents, Iceland are the third-best defence in the IHF Men's Junior World Championship. Greece are living on their high expectations for this competition, and they hope the strong attacking skills they showed can be crucial in a game against Iceland. And the good day at the office of the goalkeeper Dimitrios Bampatzanidis, who is at 34% saving efficiency after three games.

• 18:45 CEST (19:45 EEST) Egypt vs Serbia

The fourth non-European duel of the Main Round will line up the best attack of the competition, Egypt, and the sixth-best defence, Serbia. The Serbs were off to a good start against Morocco and Chile and were very close against Iceland in the last group phase game.

With the strong performance of goalkeeper Luka Krivokapić and a nine-goal outing of Miloš Kos, Serbia missed more efficiency from the wings and came in short of two goals against Iceland. Therefore, they need to step up the game against Egypt if they want to progress further to the knock-out stage, as they are starting the Main Round without points.

"This defeat is a wake-up call for us at the right moment and a good signal that clearly tells us what we need to do," said Serbia's head coach Đorđe Teodorović for rss.org.rs, and one of the most experienced players, Luka Rogan, added: "We have to get two wins, and we can't worry about anything else. We will look each other in the eyes and find a solution to fix everything that was not good in the game against Iceland because that's the only way we can reach the quarter-finals we all want."

The 2022 CAHB African Men's Junior Championship winners are determined to prove their quality and follow in the footsteps of their friends, who took the bronze medal at the 2019 edition. The best attack of the competition, with 41 goals scored on average, showed their strength against co-host Greece, overcoming the deficit. Right back Ahmed Mohamed Nahla is replaced with right wing Mohamed Khallaf to have more fastbreaks which could be Egypt's main force against a strong Balkan defence.