The Islamic Republic of Iran managed to win their second match in a row at the 1st IHF Men’s Under-17 World Championship, 42:30, against Puerto Rico, as the Asian champions finished ninth in the competition.

Earlier in the day, hosts Morocco secured a dramatic 36:35 win against the Republic of Korea, after penalties were needed to decide the winner.

PLACEMENT MATCH 9/10
Islamic Republic of Iran vs Puerto Rico 42:30 (19:15)

Asian champions Iran bounced back after their slow start of the 1st IHF Men’s Under-17 World Championship, with two wins to end their journey at Morocco 2025, with the last one coming in the Placement Match 9/10, when they defeated Puerto Rico.

The North American side came after a fantastic win against Morocco in the previous match and were buoyed by that result and their motivation was clear to be seen in the first nine minutes of the match, when they used a 4:0 unanswered run to take a 7:4 lead and prompt the first team time-out from the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Dylan Andreu and Antwan Garcia were the players to watch from Puerto Rico, but more of their teammates chimed in when Puerto Rico’s opponents started turning up the pressure, with the biggest difference between the two teams in the first half being the shooting efficiency.

While Iran boasted a 74% efficiency, Puerto Rico were hovering around 50% and that was mostly thanks to goalkeeper Mehrshad Mansouri, who stood tall in Iran’s goal with 11 saves and a 44% saving efficiency in the first half.

Soon, the Islamic Republic of Iran took control of the match, as a 7:0 unanswered run turned the match on its head and helped the Asian side build a four-goal lead, 11:7, which they managed to perfection until the end of the first half, when they were leading, 19:15.

The two sides had already met in the preliminary round, when Iran won 38:33, but this time around, with Puerto Rico shuffling their cards in the second half, there was no question about the winner.

The Asian side dominated throughout the whole match, never looking back, opening their first 10-goal lead, 33:23, after 44 minutes, part of a 4:0 unanswered run. Amirhossein Samarbakhsh scored nine goals, as many as Farshad Norouzpourmameghani did.

Eventually, the Islamic Republic of Iran clinched a 42:30 win, finishing on the ninth place, with two wins in five matches, while Puerto Rico settled for the 10th place.

Player of the Match: Amirhossein Samarbakhsh (Islamic Republic of Iran)



PLACEMENT MATCH 11/12
Republic of Korea vs Morocco 35:36 a.pen. (14:12; 32:32)

Hosts Morocco did not leavy emptyhanded the maiden edition of the IHF Men’s Under-17 World Championship, providing the leading role in one of the most dramatic matches in the competition, which saw them edge out the Republic of Korea on penalties, 36:35, after both teams came back in the final minutes of the match.

By the fifth minute, Morocco had already expensed one of their time-outs, after their coach decided to provide a wake-up call, when Korea took a 3:1 lead. But then, Morocco rode a 5:0 unanswered run, as Idriss Zerhouni scored three of his four goals in the match, to open a 8:6 lead.

But the Republic of Korea, the team with the youngest age average in the competition, duly mounted a comeback and finally managed to lead at the break for the first time in five matches in this competition,14:12, as they managed to protect the ball better than in their previous matches.

Dongha Kim and Jiung Kang each scored nine goals in the match to fuel the Republic of Korea’s challenge for the win and everything looked steady, as the Asian side managed their two or three-goal lead throughout the second half, until Morocco roared back, powered by the Player of the Match, El Hassan Ragueb.

A 3:0 run, followed by a 4:0 run, split by a Republic of Korea goal, managed to turn the match on its head, with Morocco boasting a 32:30 lead with 49 seconds left on the clock. 

But Korea also managed to keep their cool, force Morocco to miss and push the match into penalties, where the African sides converted four shots and Korea only three, with Samuel Ben Aabel scoring the decider to lift Morocco to a 36:35 win.

The hosts ended up on the 11th place, while Korea conceded five losses and ended up on the last place, but the competition will be a crucial learning curve for these young players in the future.

Player of the Match: El Hassan Ragueb (Morocco)