While the two top teams from each Main Round group are having a rest day, the third and fourth-placed teams are entering Placement Matches 9-16. Having two more games to play at the IHF Men's Junior World Championship, four European, two African, one South-American and one Asian side will try to clinch new wins.

• 10:45 CEST France vs Brazil

Teams changed their Hanover venue with Max-Schmeling-Halle in Berlin. France and Brazil are the first ones to play on the court, which will also be home for the knock-out games, starting with the quarter-finals on 28 June.

France, the 2019 IHF Men's Junior World Championship winners, were ranked worse than 8th place only six times since their first appearance in 1977. This generation certainly expected more, but now they have to give their best efforts to win two more games in the Placement Matches for a better ranking.

France made it to the Main Round thanks to their performance against Poland but could not beat co-hosts Greece in order to qualify for the quarter-finals. Despite the results, France are the second-best attack of the competition so far, scoring 35.8 goals per game on average. The French side needs to lower the number of technical faults if they want to get their hands on a comfortable win, having 14.8 on average.

Brazil squeezed into the Main Round after a good outing in what could be described as an easier group but did not have enough strength to vie against stronger Spain and the Faroe Islands in the Main Round. To finish in a span of 9 to 16 is their usual ranking, with the 2013 edition being their best placement yet (6th place). The Brazilian top player in this competition is Hugo Bryan Monta da Silva with 25 goals scored but he is also one of the crucial defensive players.

• 13:00 CEST Tunisia vs Spain

The current European champions cannot be overly satisfied with their performance at Germany/Greece 2023. Only four times in history did Spain end worse than ninth place. However, they still have a chance to make it better, first against Tunisia on Wednesday and then to end the competition with the last placement match on Thursday.

Spain made it through to the Main Round after three wins and a strong defeat against the Faroe Islands. In the clash for the quarter-finals, they could not beat Portugal and were left out of the top eight teams. While still efficient in the attack, the main problem for Spain seemed to be their defence. They conceded 28.6 goals per game on average, bringing them to 17th place on the ranking table.

Tunisia were one of four non-European teams in the Main Round but they failed to make the cut at Germany/Greece 2023. After beating their two African neighbours, Libya and Algeria, in the group phase, Tunisia struggled in attack against Croatia and France, thus finishing the Main Round Group I without points.

Tunisia will have a hard task against fast-paced Spain as they are the 28th defence of the competition, with 32.8 goals conceded on average. In the attack, their main force are the Ben Salem brothers, and Yassine is the leader with 25 goals scored. Despite finishing seventh in 2017 and 2019, this is not a disappointing placement for the African side.

 

 

 

• 18:00 CEST (19:00 EEST) Sweden vs Greece

Sweden are coming into the placement matches run after a tough 26:29 defeat against Hungary. In a do-or-die match for the quarter-finals, Sweden dropped the win in the final moments and failed to secure a placement among the top eight despite having four straight wins at the competition, as Denmark later won against Bahrain.

Ahead of the match against Hungary Sweden were top attack and defence. And while their attack dropped to the fourth place, they are still the most efficient defensive side of the competition, conceding only 112 goals in five games or 22.4 goals per game on average.

They will not have it easy in the hunt for the best possible ranking as they are facing Greece. The co-hosts were having a great start to the competition, but the defeat against Egypt lowered their chances of qualifying for the quarter-finals. Even though they had high hopes and great support from the stands, Greece were defeated by Iceland and Serbia, taking the last place in Main Round Group IV.

With the new experience, fighting spirit and will to show more, Greece will give their maximum to finish the World Championship on home soil on a positive note. Goalkeeper Dimitrios Bampatzanidis will most certainly be one of their key links. After five games, he has 58 saves at a 32% saving efficiency, reaching 11.60 saves per game on average.

• 20:00 CEST (21:00 EEST) Bahrain vs Egypt

Bahrain made a historic result at Germany/Greece 2023 and were one of the biggest surprises in the competition. In their third-ever appearance at the World Championship, Bahrain will earn the best placement after finishing 17th in 1995 and 2019.

Bahrain's best performance was against Slovenia. The Asian side led throughout the whole game, only for Slovenia to make a draw after the last-second penalty. Being seeded in the challenging Main Round Group III with Hungary, Denmark and Sweden, Bahrain knew they are not favourites for the quarter-finals. Yet, they capped off the best performance, which they want to show in the Placement Matches, especially after setting the biggest margin of a win at the Word Championship since 1999, beating Greenland 63:13.

Egypt failed to qualify for the quarter-finals and they took it to their hearts. They started off well with three straight wins in the group phase, lost to Serbia and in a crucial game, they lost by the slightest margin against Iceland (28:29), finishing third in the Main Round Group IV.

Now, Egypt, the third-best attack in the World Championship, want to get back on track and they will give their best to end it with two wins. First, they need to beat Bahrain which is not as easy as it seems, but they will rely on Omar Mohamed, their top scorer at Germany/Greece 2023, with his 5.8 goals per game on average.