After conceding losses in the quarter-finals, Denmark and Portugal went back to their winning ways at Germany/Greece 2023 to secure their spot in the Placement Match 5/6, scheduled for Sunday in the Max-Schmeling Halle in Berlin.
 
Denmark secured a 26:23 win against the Faroe Islands, avenging their loss from one year ago at the M20 EHF EURO 2022, while Portugal provided an excellent attacking game to take a 36:32 win against Croatia.

Placement Matches 5-8

• Croatia vs Portugal 32:36 (17:17)

 
Down two players after Matej Komljenović and Matej Vuleta got injured in the quarter-final against Hungary, Croatia were facing a sturdy Portugal side, with the winning team being able to fight for the fifth place on Sunday against Denmark and finish the 2023 IHF Men’s Junior World Championship on a high.
 
Sure, both teams had big ambitions before the start of the competition, and the Placement Matches were not exactly what they envisioned. However, they still gave everything and provided an entertaining match with a lot of twists and turns and plenty of firepower.
 
At first, Portugal took the early lead (7:4) after an excellent attacking display, but Croatia’s defence started to smart up and block some paths towards their goal. Still, backs André Sousa and Vasco Costa delivered an excellent game, combining for 11 goals in the first 40 minutes to keep Portugal in the game.
 
After the first 30 minutes were elapsed, the two sides were tied. Still, Portugal started the second half better, with a 6:1 run to begin the second half being crucial in setting their path to the win, as Croatia’s defence could hardly stop anything Portugal created.
 
The hummel Player of the match, Sousa, finished the game with eight goals, jumping to the seventh place in the top goal scorer standings with a 45-goal tally, and helped his side secure a 36:32 win, dishing nine assists, basically having a direct hand in 48% of his team’s goal in the match.
 
Portugal will now have the chance to finish in the top five teams at the IHF Men’s Junior World Championship for the third time in history, after ending up on the third place at Egypt 1993 and on the fourth place at Spain 2019, provided they win against Denmark in the Placement Match 5/6.
 
On the other hand, Croatia face the Faroe Islands in the Placement Match 7/8, as they have already secured a top-10 finish for the seventh time in eight editions in the world handball flagship competition.
 
hummel Player of the Match: André Sousa (Portugal)

• Denmark vs Faroe Islands 26:23 (13:10)

 
Last summer, the Faroe Islands sealed their first-ever win in a team sport against Denmark at the M20 EHF EURO 2022 (33:32) in a stellar display, which definitely gave a big morale boost for the Faroe team.
 
The two sides, which share plenty of connections, as several players from the Faroe Islands team have been plying their trade in Denmark, were set on a collision course again, this time in a Placement Match at the 2023 IHF Men’s Junior World Championship, with Faroe hoping to get back to their winning ways.
 
Yet the loss against Serbia looked like weighing heavy on Faroe, who failed to score a goal in the first six minutes of the game, as Denmark jumped to a 3:0 lead. It was a seesaw first half, with the two teams trading goals, until Denmark displayed a better match finish to take a 13:10 lead at the break.
 
It was mostly in defence where Denmark controlled the game, forcing turnovers from their opponents, who couldn`t get their attack going. It sure helped that goalkeeper Mathias René Rex Dorgelo had an excellent outing, finishing the game with 17 saves for a 47% saving efficiency, yet the game was far from over.
 
Faroe again tied the game (16:16) but failed to apply the needed pressure until the end. With five goals, Elias Ellefsen Á Skipagotu edged closer to securing the top goal scorer award at Germany/Greece 2023, needing now only three goals to leapfrog Japan’s Naoki Fujisaka.
 
But his five goals and six assists could not help Skipagotu’s side to clinch another win at Germany/Greece 2023, as Faroe conceded their second loss in a row (26:23), and will finish either seventh or eighth in the competition.
 
After already being handed two losses, Denmark bounced back and will play against Portugal for the Placement Matches 5/6 on Sunday, while the Faroe Islands, which still clinched their best-ever finish at the IHF Men’s Junior World Championship, will feature against Croatia in the Placement Matches 7/8.
 
hummel Player of the Match: Mathias René Rex Dorgelo (Denmark)