Great Britain had little trouble clinching their first win at the 2023 IHF Men's Emerging Nations Championship. They delivered a flawless performance against Guatemala to tie the most significant margin for a win so far in the competition (28:17).

The win secured Great Britain the second place in the group and a spot in the Placement Matches 5-8, with Guatemala finishing in third place, facing a battle to avoid the last place in the Placement Matches 9-12.

Group C
Great Britain vs Guatemala 28:17 (16:6)

In their debut at the IHF Men's Emerging Nations Championship, Guatemala failed to produce more than five goals in the first half against Cuba, the third-lowest number in the competition's history.

But the learning curve is still steep for Guatemala, which failed to really improve their tally in the first half of their second game at Bulgaria 2023, against Great Britain, as the European side used superior skill and experience to tie the largest lead at the break in this competition, 10 goals, set by Cuba on Wednesday.

It was a game riddled with mistakes for Guatemala, whose lack of experience was telling, as their centre back, Edwin Josue Martinez, was constantly singled out in attack, turning the ball over a whopping eight times.

Therefore, there was no issue for Great Britain to create a big lead, 10:3, after only 16 minutes, with coach Ricardo Vasconcelos ushering in new players as soon as the lead started to balloon. But Vasconcelos was forced to revert to the original plan after mistakes kept creeping in.

Guatemala prevented their opponents from scoring for seven minutes and 57 seconds and cut the gap to only five goals (11:6), but with the top goal scorer of the 2019 IHF Men's Emerging Nations Championship, Sebastien Edgar, returning to the fold, the British side looked much more composed.

A 5:0 run to end the first half was enough for the European side to create a 10-goal lead at the break, 16:6, which proved unassailable in the end, as Vasconcelos' side was too strong and was never going to let the chance for a winning pass.

But Guatemala proved some grit in the second half to limit the damage, as they did in the second half against Cuba, which ended in a 12:12 draw. As Great Britain tried different lineups, Guatemala took advantage while distributing their attacks to as many players as possible.

Eventually, Guatemala conceded a 17:28 loss against Great Britain, with the Player of the Match, Francisco Pereira, scoring eight times for the European side.

Great Britain's first win at Bulgaria 2023 meant that the European side finished second in their group and will face the winner of the match Nigeria or Azerbaijan in the Placement Matches 5-8, as Guatemala are heading to the Placement Matches 9-12, where they play against the loser of the match Nigeria vs Azerbaijan on Saturday.

Player of the Match: Francisco Pereira (Great Britain)