Familiar foes meet in quarter-finals

Max-Schmeling-Halle in Berlin will be a new battleground for the top eight teams in the world. With the start of the knock-out stage, things are heating up at the 24th IHF Men's Junior World Championship, with history being written.

For the first time since 1991, only European sides are among the top eight teams. Four unbeaten sides, the Faroe Islands, Germany, Iceland and Hungary will face Serbia, Denmark, Portugal and Croatia.

The Faroe Islands have a chance to continue their amazing streak, co-hosts Germany hope to make success in front of their fans, Iceland want to improve their recent rankings, just as Denmark and Hungary, while Serbia and Portugal dream of reaching the second podium in a year.

Quarter-finals

• 13:15 CEST Faroe Islands vs Serbia

The Faroe Islands are one of the biggest surprises at the World Championship, but their success didn't come overnight. They have been slowly progressing in recent years and hard work and determination have paid off. The Faroe Islands already wrote history after ending 16th at their first World Championship in 2017 and finishing 10th at the M20 EHF EURO 2022.

Their main forces are Hákun West av Teigum (34 goals) and the competition's top scorer Elias Ellefsen Á Skipagotu (39 goals), both well-rested after not entering the court in the last game against Portugal. Unbeaten Faroe Islands will take on the second-best defence of Germany/Greece 2023 and the top goalkeeper, Luka Krivokapić who has 12.6 saves per game on average.

Serbia are on a high after winning in a do-or-die battle against Egypt and a comfortable win against co-hosts Greece. The third team of the M20 EHF EURO 2022 dream of reaching the final weekend in Berlin.

"We are going to Berlin to play three strong games, to repeat the success from Portugal, and why not to climb the throne? The first opponent are the Faroe Islands, a team that has not lost a single point in the championship so far. An extremely difficult match awaits us," said Serbian head coach Đorđe Teodorović for rss.org.rs.

• 15:45 CEST Iceland vs Portugal

Iceland are still unbeaten at the 24th IHF Men's Junior World Championship, but they had more of a tougher task in the Main Round. Two crucial games, against co-hosts Greece and Egypt, ended with the same result – 29:28.

Portugal and Iceland have solid defences, conceding 23.6 and 22.8 goals per game on average, respectively, and the attack will determine the winners for the semi-finals. Even though on paper Portugal are the more efficient side in the attack, Iceland hope their recognisable style will give them a good boost.

After the silver medal was secured at home at the M20 EHF EURO 2022, Portugal are dreaming of reaching the medal battle one more time. They had a good start to the World Championship with four straight wins, but the Faroe Islands ended their winning streak. With the Faroe Islands playing similarly to Iceland, it was a good test for the Portuguese side ahead of the knock-out game on Thursday.

André Sousa with 31 goals and Pedro Oliveira with 24 goals are the top scorers for Portugal, while Iceland rely on more shooters, with Símon Michael Gudjónsson and Andri Mar Runarsson leading the way with 21 goals each. And they hope to have enough energy to reach the semi-finals, especially after 11th place at the M20 EHF EURO 2022.

"We will prepare the game as carefully as possible so that on Thursday we can be at our best level and beat Iceland," said Portugal's head coach Carlos Martingo for portal.fpa.pt.

 

 

 

• 18:30 CEST Hungary vs Croatia

Top-notch game pit two sides who know each other well from the past. Hungary are eager to prove their experience against their neighbours Croatia to extend the winning streak to six. László Sótonyi's team already made the best Hungarian finish at the competition by finishing fifth at the M20 EHF EURO 2022 and now they want to make it one step further. 

Hungary will not have it easy as Croatia are boosted in confidence after two Main Round games and they are eager to improve their result after a disappointing 14th place at the M20 EHF EURO 2022. Croatia are counting on the goalkeeper duo Dominik Kuzmanović and Matej Mandić, both playing in two top Croatian clubs, Nexe and PPD Zagreb.

Croatia's force will also be left wing Ivan Barbić, who has been an important link even when Croatia trailed. Barbić scored 33 goals or 6.6 goals per game on average and his fastbreak can be a decisive one if the Croatian defence shines against Hungary.

The Hungarians are also hoping their strong defence will be their starting point as the team conceded only 23.8 goals per game on average. Unbeaten Hungary will try to mess up the Croatian plans by imposing their rhythm and forcing Croatia into turnovers and fastbreaks and their good play with line players.

• 21:00 CEST Germany vs Denmark

Denmark are the second most successful nation of all time at the IHF Men's Junior World Championship and they will try to stop unbeaten Germany. The co-hosts are determined to qualify for the semi-finals and they have solid ground with the results so far. In the group phase, they beat Tunisia, Algeria and Libya and transferred a maximum of two points to the Main Round. In two new, stronger games, they outran France and clinched the win against Croatia.

With an efficient attack and 35 goals scored on average at the World Championship, Germany will try to impose their rhythm and stop the well-known Scandinavian style of play. If their goalkeepers David Späth and Lasse Ludwig repeat their latest performances, the Danish side will have to have a storming attacking outing.

Denmark earned a place among the top eight teams after a 29:26 win against Sweden. It was their best performance at the competition, after winning over Argentina and Norway in the group phase. With a boost to their morale, they are eager to progress further in order to top their 2019 performance when they finished 5th.

Their last official encounter was at the M20 EHF EURO 2022. In the clash for seventh place, Germany beat Denmark 32:27 after an eight-goal outing by Tim Freihöfer. The left wing is also Germany's top scorer at Germany/Greece 2023 with 27 goals scored. Having all 14 players in the squad score at least once at the competition, with good depth Denmark have a good chance to make Germany play their game, but they need to strengthen up in defence.