Fresh from a disappointing draw against the Islamic Republic of Iran on Wednesday, Sweden bounced back in fashion against Burundi, securing their largest-ever win at the IHF Men’s Youth World Championship and the second-largest win in the history of the competition.

The Scandinavian side used a healthy start to create a 46-goal gap at the end (62:16), with the two highest wins in the history of the IHF Men’s Youth World Championship coming at Croatia 2023, after Slovenia took a 49-goal win over New Zealand in the first day of competition.

In the other afternoon game, title favourites Spain made it two out of two with another excellent win against Bahrain (18:29), displaying some excellent defensive prowess, which might come in handy for the next games.

• Group D

Bahrain vs Spain 18:29 (8:15)

Early on, this game had those watching checking their record books – Spain had raced to a nine-goal lead, with Bahrain scoring just twice in the first 18 minutes (11:2).

Inaccurate shooting, turnovers, technical mistakes and an eventual player of the match performance from Spain’s goalkeeper, Alvaro Perez Mendez (10 saves in total), saw Bahrain down in the dumps, even though they took a pause just after the 10-minute mark for a time-out.

Bahrain woke up a little soon after, while the Spanish player started to lose a little focus, so the Asian side reduced the deficit to seven at the break (8:15).

But the damage had already been done thanks to a woeful 36% strike rate in the first 30 minutes (8 goals from 22 shots) from 31 attacks.

The second half did not fare any better as Spain continued apace to secure their way to a safe passage through to the main round with a game to spare, should Brazil beat the Republic of Korea in the final match today.

hummel Player of the Match: Alvaro Perez Mendez (Spain) 

 

 

 

• Group H

Burundi vs Sweden 16:62 (4:31)

Sweden secured their first victory at Croatia 2023 with an impressive display of shooting skills. After a surprising draw with the Islamic Republic of Iran the day before, the Scandinavian team had an easy win against newcomer Burundi without breaking a sweat. There was no question about the winner of this game but only on which margin will Sweden beat the debutants Burundi.

Sweden opened the account with four straight goals before we saw Ndayiragije Benin netting for the African side. What came next could be somewhat of a record as for the 23 minutes, we only saw goals galore on Sweden's side. Goal after goal led to a 23-0 goal run.

Not even a time-out could wake up Burundi from the stage they were in, not being able to score nor reduce the number of turnovers. Arvid Norén's saves between Swedish posts didn't help either, as he was on nine saves at 70% save efficiency.

Everyone cheered when Burundi managed to get their hands on the second goal and, in a short momentum, came to the fourth, avoiding New Zealand's nightmare record of scoring only three in the first half. As Sweden kept on their pace and scoring abilities, Burundi also showcased more in the opening minutes of the second half.

It took them ten minutes to surpass their output from the first 30 minutes. By the end of the game, Sweden managed to come to 62 goals scored, coming close to setting the highest win in the history of the IHF Men's Youth World Championship.

12 out of 13 field players scored at least once, with "hummel Player of the Match" Love Sundewall and Isak Hasanic Holmhren netting perfect 10/10. As for Burundi, their star of the day was Arakaza Bernard, who scored six times or 40% of all Burundi goals.

hummel Player of the Match: Love Sundewall (Sweden)

Photos: Croatia 2023/Kolektiff Images