Serbia won the President’s Cup at the 2025 IHF Men’s Junior World Championship, with a high-octane 38:35 win against Iceland.

Switzerland finished on the 13th place, with a 37:32 win over Hungary, while Romania also secured a winning finish at Poland 2025, 43:33 against Japan.

Placement Match 17/18 (President's Cup final)
Iceland vs Serbia 35:38 (18:18)

Even though both teams hoped for a better placement, it is still a positive thing not only to end the IHF Men's Junior World Championship with a win, but also a trophy. Serbia's strong second half secured them a victory against Iceland in the President's Cup final, and they are going home with a consolation prize—for the second time. Serbia also won the President's Cup back in 2015 when they beat Japan.

Serbia came out sharp and confident, with Vukašin Antonijević pulling the strings in attack. They built up an early three-goal lead and looked in full control, even surviving a two-man suspension thanks to a string of brilliant saves by Nikola Zorić.

But Iceland never backed down. Sensing Serbia's rhythm dropping and energy fading, they shifted gears—both in attack and with a switch to a more aggressive 5-1 defence, and it paid off. A 3:0 run flipped the momentum, and Sigurdur Snaer Sigurjónsson gave Iceland their first lead of the match at 16:15. Still, Serbia fought back to bring it level by halftime.

Serbia made one change in the second half and it proved to be a crucial one. Instead of Nikola Zorić, Kosta Dizdar stepped between the posts and completely frustrated Iceland. In 14 minutes of the second half, Dizdar made nine saves out of 11 attempts and completely turned the game around.

His saves prompted a new run as Serbia came from a deadlock to a 26:20 lead. But Serbia slowed down too much, too soon, and Iceland started to punish that. In under ten minutes they narrowed the gap back to one (28:29), and gave a new feeling to the match.

Iceland were pushing hard to shift the momentum their way and keep it close, but then came another streak from Dizdar—at the end he was at 13 saves and 43% save efficiency. His saves pushed Serbia again, and with five minutes on the clock, they found themselves back in a decisive four-goal lead, which sealed the deal.

Player of the Match: Kosta Dizdar (Serbia)

Placement Match 13/14
Hungary vs Switzerland 32:37 (17:17)

In their first IHF Men's Junior World Championship in 12 years, Switzerland looked pleased to secure 13th position after defeating Hungary. In contrast, the Hungarians, who were runners-up two years ago at Germany/Greece 2023, finished only 14th, losing four of their seven games at the competition.

The teams traded goals throughout much of the high-scoring first half, with neither able to pull ahead by more than two goals before the break. Switzerland took a 7:5 advantage 10 minutes into the match, while Hungary responded with a 3:0 run to move in front 10:8 five minutes later. Switzerland were close to winning the half, but Adam Nagy drew level for Hungary one second before the break.

The script changed after the restart, as Switzerland used a 3:0 run to pull clear at 22:19, forcing Hungary to call a timeout. The Swiss team never gave up their lead afterwards, powered by their leaders Luka Sigrist and Gino Steenaerts, who scored 12 and eight goals respectively and accounted for more than half of their team's goals.

Player of the Match: Luka Sigrist (Switzerland)

Placement Match 15/16  
Romania vs Japan 43:33 (18:15)  

Romania, returning to the IHF Men's Junior World Championship after a 10-year wait, bowed out in style at Poland 2025, securing 15th position after a commanding win against Japan. The Asian side, who finished 16th, improved their ranking compared to Germany/Greece 2023, where they placed 19th.

Romania had the upper hand from the opening minutes, taking an 11:7 lead 15 minutes into the match. Japan's goalkeeping left much to be desired, as Shohei Yoneda and Ryo Komoda failed to deliver a single save before the break. However, the Asians kept fighting and did a good job in attack, with a 3:0 run late in the first half drawing them level at 14:14 before Romania pulled ahead again.

The match became more one-sided after the interval, as the European team was clearly dominant. In particular, they enjoyed a 5:0 run between the 44th and 47th minute, which handed them a 32:24 lead. Right back Codrin Radu made a big impact with his 11 goals, all scored from open play, and although Japanese goalkeeping somewhat improved as the match progressed, Romania hit the 40-goal mark to take a clear 10-goal victory.  

Player of the Match: Mario Alberto Racolța (Romania)

Placement Match 19/20
Poland vs Algeria 34:19 (14:8)

Hosts Poland closed their Poland 2025 campaign with a solid win over Algeria, ending on a high despite their lowest finish in recent editions—19th, after placing 17th in 2023. Algeria, meanwhile, showed clear progress, improving from 22nd in 2023.

Poland took control early and never looked back. With nine different scorers in the first half and Adam Witkowski stopping half the shots he faced, the hosts kept a firm grip on the lead. Algeria had a brief spark at 1:0 and later levelled at 4:4, but the rest of the half was one-way traffic.

As expected, Adel Guemeida was once again their key player, supported by a few good saves from Benslimane Ahmed Rayane. Still, Poland kept rolling with small goal runs and built a comfortable six-goal lead by halftime. The second half brought more of the same. Poland struck nine times to Algeria's four and pulled away to a commanding 23:12 lead.

Jakub Wysocki carried the momentum in goal, picking up where Witkowski left off. By the final whistle, all 14 outfield players had scored, and on Algeria's team, M'lik Soheib Nacer joined Adel Guemeida in attack, with the latter finishing as their top scorer on eight goals, while Nacer added five.

Player of the Match: Patryk Wasiak (Poland)

Placement Match 27/28
Brazil vs Bahrain 29:28 (14:9)

Brazil were much stronger early in the match, opening up a 3:0 lead before Mahmood Yusuf scored Bahrain's first goal. Led by Vinicius Perrin, who scored seven of his 11 goals in the first half, the South Americans pulled clear at 10:3 in the 18th minute.

Bahrain improved their attack and produced an impressive 6:1 run to cut the gap to 9:11 with four minutes left in the first half. However, Brazil regained their dominance, scoring three unanswered goals before halftime to restore a five-goal lead.

Vinicius Bertoldo rose to prominence after the break, and his goals helped Brazil maintain a five-goal lead in the 43rd minute, 20:15. Bahrain did not give up and continued to fight. Perrin and Bertoldo combined for 21 of Brazil's 29 goals in this match, but, similar to their previous match against North Macedonia, Brazil ran out of steam late in the game, allowing Bahrain a 5:1 run in the closing minutes. This surge was not enough for a comeback, so Brazil ranked 27th at the tournament, leaving Bahrain 28th.

Player of the Match: Guilherme Maia Candido (Brazil)

Placement Match 29/30  
Uruguay vs Saudi Arabia 22:32 (9:15)  

Thanks to a 78% shooting efficiency, Saudi Arabia claimed their second straight win at Poland 2025 and finished 29th, which is eight positions lower than two years ago at Germany/Greece 2023. Meanwhile, Uruguay, who had claimed their maiden victory at the tournament against Mexico the day before, failed to celebrate another win and ended up in 30th place.

Uruguay looked inspired early in the game and led 3:1, later 5:4, but Saudi Arabia soon woke up and seized the initiative. A strong 6:1 run helped them to a 10:6 lead in the 21st minute, and the South Americans struggled to get past their rivals' defence, as they were restricted to just nine goals in the opening half.

Uruguay's Juan Rana ended the match with seven goals and helped his team to hit the 20-goal mark in the second straight match, but it was not enough for a positive result. Eleven Saudi Arabian players found the net in this game, with three players scoring six times, and the Asians boasted a 13-goal advantage (29:16) in the 54th minute before slightly relaxing their approach in the remaining time.  

Player of the Match: Ali Almoqbqub (Saudi Arabia)