Brazil, Serbia, Spain and Sweden all get big wins to throw off Germany/Greece 2023

There were no surprises in the afternoon games in Hanover, Magdeburg and Athens, with all the favourites taking big wins to register a perfect start at the 2023 IHF Men's Junior World Championship.

Sweden secured a 18-goal win against Bahrain (35:17), Serbia had a 28-goal win over Chile (41:13), and Brazil were nearly flawless in attack against Costa Rica in their 38:17 win.

The tightest battle was the one between Spain and Japan, a fast-paced, modern game, which saw the European side take a 43:28 win while being pushed throughout the whole match by the combative Asian side, which displayed some impressive skills in the GETEC Arena in Magdeburg.

• Group C

Brazil vs Costa Rica 38:17 (22:9)

Last November, at the 2022 South and Central American Men's Junior Handball Championship, Brazil delivered a huge blow to Costa Rica, taking a 40:16 win. The draw for Germany/Greece 2023 also set a game between the two sides at the IHF Men's Junior World Championship, and things went the same way.

While Costa Rica made the better start, Brazil used a 4:0 run to turn the game on its head and added another excellent run (7:1) to create a 10-goal cushion (17:7), without any chance for their opponents to mount a comeback.

In fact, Brazil only improved their gap as time passed, especially thanks to their excellent attacking efficiency, where they missed a single shot from the 23 they made in the first half, for an astonishing 95% efficiency in the first 30 minutes.

Left wing Michael Da Silva Quintino and Hugo Bryan Monta da Silva were the fulcrum of Brazil's attack, as they never stopped scoring and dishing assists, with Da Silva Quinto finishing the match with 11 goals, while Monta da Silva, one of the rising stars in Brazilian handball boasting three goals and three assists.

Da Silva Quinto also jumped to the top of the top goal scorer standings, tying Cuba's Maiko Antono Vazques Aballi, with the two players joining Japan's Naoki Fujisaka in being the only ones who scored in double digits so far at Germany/Greece 2023.

Eventually, Brazil, who had 13 of their 14 outfield players scoring at least one goal, cruised to a 38:17 win, their highest at the IHF Men's Junior World Championship since the 37:17 one against Burkina Faso at Algeria 2017.

hummel Player of the Match: Michael Da Silva Quintino (Brazil)

• Group D

Spain vs Japan 43:28 (22:16)

After five minutes in the game, Spain were already 4:0 up, setting up the pace of the game with some excellent play in defence. Slowly but surely, Japan came back into the game, as their fast-paced style proved to be impossible to stop at times, especially as centre back Naoki Fujisaka got into his own groove.

A skilled player with excellent speed, Fujisaka, the hummel Player of the Match, carved into Spain's defence and even managed to help his team cut the gap to only two goals, 8:6, after 12 minutes. Yet Japan's issues were their defence, especially the lack of defence against Spain's wings.

Although Spain have one of the most experienced back lines at Germany/Greece 2023, they purposely designed their attack to go via the wings, as their four wings combined for 16 goals in the first half, exactly as many goals as the entire Japan team managed. 

Therefore, it was no surprise that the reigning European champions were ahead by six goals (22:16), their superior experience and depth being the key factors in this scoreline, with the gap growing bigger and bigger in the second half, despite Spain using all of their players.

Barcelona's left wing, Marti Soler, who featured at the EHF FINAL4 just a few days ago, was Spain's top scorer in the game, with nine goals, as the 43:28 win also brought the highest number of goals scored by "Los Hispanos" at the IHF Men's Junior World Championship since putting the same number of goals past the Islamic Republic of Iran at Greece 2011.

hummel Player of the Match: Naoki Fujisaka (Japan)

 

 

 

• Group F

Sweden vs Bahrain 35:17 (21:11)

An excellent all-around performance by Sweden, but more so in defence, was the main reason the Scandinavian side opened their account at Germany/Greece 2023 with a straightforward win against Bahrain, 35:17.

While the European side, the fourth-placed team at the M20 EHF EURO 2022 last summer, already had a 10-goal lead after the first half, their second-half performance was even more impressive, conceding only six times, with goalkeeper Alexander Lindén totally dominating his opponents.

In fact, Lindén finished the game with 10 saves from the 16 shots he faced, for a great 62.5% saving efficiency, the best so far at Germany/Greece 2023 between the goalkeepers who faced at least 10 shots.

In attack, Sweden distributed their minutes expertly for all their players, as four of them finished the match with five goals scored, Carl Hamberg, Tobias Ljungmark, Petter Donaldson and Kasper Palmar. Star line player Felix Möller ended the game with only two goals, but he is expected to become even more integral to his side in the next matches.

Only Chile (13) and Morocco (15) scored fewer goals than Bahrain on this first day at Germany/Greece 2023 so far, with the Asian side having only virtual chances to progress to the main round, needing wins against Slovenia and Greenland to stand a fighting chance to qualify.

hummel Player of the Match: Kasper Palmar (Sweden)

• Group G

Serbia vs Chile 41:13 (19:7)

In all their four previous IHF Men's Junior Handball Championships, Serbia had started with a victory, and Germany/Greece 2023 did not become an exception. Seen as favourites against Chile, the Balkan side lived up to expectations. 

The Europeans not just earned two points but claimed their biggest win at this level by 28 goals. The previous record was set in 2019 when the Serbs defeated the USA 36:19. 

Serbia enjoyed the best possible start to the match, taking a 10:0 lead by minute 13. Their defence worked well, which allowed the Europeans to steal the ball and score from counterattacks time after time. Besides, goalkeeper Marko Mrdovic also made a few saves.

Chile's coach Aitor Etxaburu called for a timeout to adjust the game, and his team improved after that. At least they finally started to score – but the gap was already big, and Serbia, who boasted an 83% shot efficiency in the first half, led 19:7 at the break. 

Luka Krivokapic, who replaced Mrdovic in Serbia's goal, powered his team to a 6:0 run before Camilo Ceballos scored Chile's first goal in the second half in minute 39. The last questions about the outcome were removed by that time, but the Balkan team did not slow down. 

Krivokapic ended the game with an impressive 70% saving efficiency (14 saves), while 13 of 14 Serbia's court players put their names on the scoresheet. So after day one in Group G, Serbia and Iceland are on two points, while Morocco and Chile have no points. 

hummel Player of the Match: Igor Milovanovic (Serbia)