Egypt seal top 10 finish, while Bahrain secure best-ever finish

Egypt made the top 10 at the IHF Men’s Junior World Championship for the 14th time in the last 15 editions, securing a place between the best 10 teams in the world with a clear win against Sweden (37:35) in the last match played in Athens at Germany/Greece 2023.
 
Earlier, Angola sealed the 26th place in the final standings with a 33:26 win over the United States of America. At the same time, co-hosts Greece lost their fourth match in a row, 29:38 against Bahrain, to finish 15th, with the Asian side sealing their best-ever finish at the IHF Men’s Junior World Championship, the 13th place.

Placement Matches 9-12

• Sweden vs Egypt 35:37 (17:16)

A strong second-half performance helped Egypt defeat Sweden and end the competition on a high. The African champions missed out on the quarter-finals but ranked ninth, while Sweden took the 12th position.

Several Egyptian players showed great individual skills in this match – goalkeeper Youssef Ahmed recorded 14 saves for a 44% saving efficiency, while Omar Mohamed scored 10 goals. At Sweden, Felix Möller netted even more – 11 times – but the Scandinavians came up short.

Overall, it was a close game, and Sweden started it better. Möller's goals lifted them to a 9:5 lead midway through the first half, and although the 'Pharaohs' improved later on, the Scandinavians were still in front at the break, even if by just one goal.

The pendulum swung back and forth for a while after the break, as the sides were level at 24:24 in the 42nd minute, but then Egypt pulled in front. Spurred by Ahmed's saves, they used a 7:1 run to create a 31:25 advantage with 11 minutes to go, and it played a crucial role.

With two and a half minutes to go, the Africans still held a six-goal lead (35:29). And although Sweden had a late surge and scored six goals in the remaining time, it was too late for a comeback. 

hummel Player of the Match: Youssef Ahmed (Egypt)

Placement Matches 13-16

• Greece vs Bahrain 29:38 (13:18)

Bahrain, who became one of the surprises of this World Championship, had already reached their goal at the competition, progressing to the main round, and following a win against co-hosts Greece, they can leave the event with their heads held high.

In turn, Greece, who were determined to reach the quarter-finals at the start of the competition, failed to make their spectators happy in their last game, as they suffered their fifth straight defeat. 

Bahrain enjoyed an excellent start to the game, opening a 7:1 lead by the eighth minute. Abdulla Ali and Ali Alasheeri led by example in attack, while goalkeeper Hesham Isa made some crucial saves, so Greece had to call for their first timeout quite soon.

It stabilised their game a little bit, but the Asians continued to have the upper hand. Bahrain pulled clear at 18:10, three minutes from half-time before Greece's 3:0 run reduced the gap to five goals. 

While the co-hosts hoped for a strong comeback in the second half, Bahrain did not allow them to turn things around. Mohamed Rabia, who had received a red card in their previous match on Wednesday, tried his best in attack, finishing the game with 10 goals.

His teammate Hesham Isa also became a hero of the day, recording 17 saves for a 40% saving efficiency. Midway through the second half, the Asians established a double-digit lead (29:19), so Greece needed a miracle to avoid a defeat. However, it did not happen, and Bahrain cruised to a nine-goal victory. 

hummel Player of the Match: Hesham Isa (Bahrain)

Placement Matches 25-28

• United States of America vs Angola 26:33 (12:17)

Angola proved to be a hard nut to crack for the United States of America and celebrated their third straight win to close the 24th IHF Men's Junior World Championship chapter. The USA were on a good track in the President's Cup, but their four-game winning streak came to an end. Despite the results, both sides will have good memories of Germany/Greece 2023.

The two teams were taking it slowly and for the first 15 minutes of the game, it was all level with no spectacular moves. Angola were the first one to have early momentum, setting 10:7. Danilo Rojevic's team did not let go easily and they closed the gap back to one.

Nelson Domingos Pedro carried Angola through thick and thin and Pedro José Domingos joined in the second half. The two scored 15 times by the end of the match. The game's decisive moment was when Angola took advantage of the USA's mistakes and reached a double-digit lead in the 45th minute.

The USA did not have any other solution than to soothe the defeat with another set of Matisse Walker's goals, who was unstoppable, bringing his tally up to nine by the end of the match.

hummel Player of the Match: Pedro José Domingos (Angola)