With their second win in as many games at the 2023 IHF Men’s Youth World Championship (38:20) against Morocco, Slovenia secured safe passage to the main round of the competition, enabling Hungary to seal their tickets to the next phase as well.
 
In Group F, Norway used a strong start against Georgia to clinch their second win (38:24), too, as the Scandinavian side is now primed to progress to the main round.
 

• Group B

Slovenia vs Morocco 38:20 (17:7)
 
Slovenia knew that they needed to win against Morocco to ensure their safe passage to the main round, and the European side delivered an excellent first half, where they opened a 10-goal gap after 30 minutes (17:7) to lighten their load before the crucial clash against Hungary on Saturday.
 
While the start might not have been the one Slovenia envisioned, with Morocco staying close mainly thanks to their excellent defensive effort, a 3:0 run for the European side, spurred by two goals from back Mlivić Malik, set up the tone.
 
But goalkeeper Ian Mesarec really shined, frustrating Morocco throughout the first half with some excellent saves. At one moment in the first part of the game, Mesarec had a 60% saving efficiency, improving it to 65% at the end of the first 30 minutes, with another excellent pair of saves in the last two minutes.
 
With wings Arijan Kovačević and Luka Kačičnik dominating their opponents – they combined for 13 goals throughout the match – Slovenia pulled no stops to improve their gap in the game, especially as Morocco failed to get anything going in attack, paying for their costly turnovers.
 
Eventually, the gap grew to 18 goals, as Slovenia clinched another big win, 38:20, after their record one on Wednesday, 60:11 against New Zealand, as they clinched the main round berth from this group, enabling Hungary to celebrate safe passage too.
 
With 98 goals scored in the first two matches, Slovenia are the best attack in the competition, with seven goals more than Portugal and will likely finish the second round of the preliminary round on that place, with only hosts Croatia in touching distance of that number.
 
The two European sides will clash in a crucial game for their future on Saturday, with the winner taking the points into the main round, while Morocco have the chance to open their account against New Zealand, with both sides heading to the President’s Cup.
 
hummel Player of the Match: Luka Kačičnik (Slovenia)

 

 

• Group F

Georgia vs Norway 24:38 (8:20)

Norway claimed their second straight win at the tournament, this time against Georgia, and made a big step towards the main round. If Montenegro defeat North Macedonia in a Balkan derby later today, both Norway and Montenegro will go through. 

Norway's opening win against North Macedonia (27:25) was hardly convincing, as the Scandinavians were close to dropping some points. Two days later, they were determined to leave a better impression and took early control of the match. In particular, the Norwegian defence worked much better than on Wednesday; their goalkeeper Sebastian Reiersen stood like a wall, while Marius Olseth once again showed his firepower in attack. 

By the 20th minute, Georgia scored just four goals, as Norway comfortably led 14:4. After that, the Georgians did slightly better in attack, but as Reiersen recorded 10 saves already before the break, the outcome looked clear at half-time. 

Reiersen finished the game with 15 saves, becoming "hummel Player of the Match", as his team had no problems maintaining their superiority in the second half. 13 of their players scored at least once, with Eirik Solost, who did an excellent job after the break, becoming the top scorer with eight goals – ahead of Olseth, who netted five times.

Overall, the game was more balanced in the second half, as Georgia scored 16 goals – twice as many as in the opening 30 minutes. However, it was not enough to fight back, as Norway cruised to a comfortable victory. 

hummel Player of the Match: Sebastian Reiersen (Norway)

Photos: Croatia 2023/Kolektiff images