On Saturday 20 July, round four for Group D at the 2019 IHF Men’s Junior World Championship will see several important clashes that will determine which teams still have a chance to reach the eighth-finals. 

A Pan American clash between Chile and Argentina will open the day, with both teams fighting for two points that will keep their chances alive. Iceland and Denmark will follow, with Denmark aiming to keep their perfect record alive and Iceland hoping to be the first to upset them. Norway and Germany, currently ranked second and third in the group, will wrap up the round for the group. 

GROUP D
Feature match: Norway vs Germany
Pavillon Municipal de Deportes de Pontevedra, 20:00 local time

U20 EHF EURO 2020 bronze medallists Germany and Norway enter round four with four points apiece, collected from two wins each. Both sides have been defeated by group leaders Denmark, with Norway losing an exciting match in the last second in round one before Germany were overcome by five goals in round two. 

Germany have taken wins against both Pan American teams in the group, earning their first two points in round one when they beat Argentina by 18 goals, then winning by 17 versus Chile in round three on Friday. Norway recovered from their round one defeat to Denmark and recorded two consecutive wins, versus Chile, 36:25, and Iceland, 29:19. 

“It was a great victory today. Now we are going to try to rest because tomorrow we have to play against Germany,” said Norway coach Joar Gjerde after their win against Iceland. “If we manage to beat them, it will be very important, but we have to play better against them to achieve it. Today we played a very serious match in defence and our goalkeeper was the best player of the game. If we maintain this dynamic and this good defence, we have options to beat Germany tomorrow.” 

Germany and Norway will meet to decide two points that will not only qualify the winner of the match for the eighth-finals, but will be important in the final ranking. The team that takes the points from this encounter will be in a strong position to finish among the top positions and secure a lower-ranked knock-out round opponent from Group C. 

“Today we played a good match in the defensive aspect. We went well with the 6-0 and 5-1 defence, and our goalkeepers were able to make many stops. Tomorrow against Norway we will probably play for second place in the group, so we will try to win,” said Germany coach Martin Heuberger after their round three clash against Chile on Thursday. 

This Germany squad ranked well ahead of Norway at both the 2017 IHF Men’s Youth World Championship and at last year’s U20 European championship, which appears to give them an edge in this encounter – but a year has passed since the last major international competition for these sides, and nothing is certain. 

South American clash for last chance at knock-out round 

The day in Pontevedra will open with Chile meeting Argentina at 16:00 local time, with an important two points on the line. The winner will still have a chance to proceed to the eighth-finals, while the losing team will be out of the race. Both teams are on zero points currently. As Argentina are the South and Central American junior champions, while Chile placed third at the continental event, it seems the odds favour Argentina to take their first victory at Spain 2019. 

In the other round four match for the group, throwing off at 18:00 local time, Denmark will look to cement their place on top of the table and maintain the maximum points. Denmark are already sure of a place in the eighth-finals, thanks to their three wins so far. For Iceland, the points are more important, as they are not safely through to the next stage yet.