Germany dominated the traditional Sparkassen Cup in Merzig, with the traditional  younger age category competition taking place this year between 27 and 29 December. The hosts cappeda stellar holiday tournament by reclaiming the title with a 31:28 final win over Iceland.

Eight teams - seven national squads plus regional powerhouse HV Saar - split into two groups of four for the traditional competition which takes place at the end of the year. Group A saw Germany crush it with 35:21 over Serbia and 33:25 against Portugal, before winning against HV Saar. Group B went Iceland's way, topping Slovenia 29:24, Austria, 32:24, and the Netherlands, 31:18.

With the top two sides advancing into the semi-finals, Germany dominated Slovenia, 31:25, while Iceland extended their winning run to four matches, taking a 31:28 win over Portugal, to set up a crunch final against Germany.

In the bronze medal match, Slovenia took out Portugal, 22:16, before Germany and Iceland faced off, with the hosts boasting an extended squad of players who have already tasted glory earlier this year, at the inaugural IHF Men’s Under-17 World Championship, like Kalle Gaugisch, Leo Nowak, and Julius Pöthke, blending fresh momentum from Egypt's resin-free battles into this festive clash.

The match between Germany and Iceland was an epic one, with Iceland relying heavily on 15-year-old prodigy Narfi Arndal. But Germany staged a stunning comeback to claim the title, despite trailing 5:11 after 18 minutes. Iceland's rapid attacks and goalkeeper Anton Heldersson overwhelmed Germany's early defense, but a timeout sparked changes, forging a 16:16 tie before halftime.

The hosts exploded in the second half with renewed euphoria, tightening defense and unleashing timely scorers to hit 24:20 by the 40th minute. Iceland fought back relentlessly to 27:28, but Tjorven Knackstedt's four clutch saves from the 57th minute sealed the win for Germany, 31:28.

It was a rematch of the European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF) final, when Iceland took a 28:25 win against Germany to win the gold medal this summer.

In the final, Finn Schultz scored seven goals, as many as Julius Pöthke, with Leo Nowak adding five goals, all of them being world champions earlier in November in Morocco.

"We played particularly well on defense at this tournament. We saw that we can be successful with different defensive systems: with a larger formation in the middle block or a smaller, more offensively oriented defense," said Germany’s coach, Erik Wudtke, who oversaw his team’s win at the 2025 IHF Men’s Youth World Championship in August, for handball.net.

Credit photo: Rene Weiss / handball.net