Czechia succeed against Iceland in close match, as Argentina, Austria and Hungary record big wins

The 2023 IHF Men’s Youth World Championship continued in Varaždin, Koprivnica, Rijeka and Opatija with another set of four matches, with three of them ending in lopsided wins, while the other one, a battle between two European sides, saw Czechia win against Iceland in a well-balanced game.

Hungary enjoyed a clear 37:28 win over Morocco; Argentina threw off the competition with a big win over the United States of America (33:21), while Austria sealed their first win in 10 years in the competition with a 49:26 win.

• Group B

Hungary vs Morocco 37:28 (19:11)

With Zsombor Szepesi, Kristóf Csörgő and Roland Terjék combining for 15 of the first 23 goals for Hungary, the European side created a big enough gap from the first 15 minutes of the match to enjoy a clear win over Morocco in their start at the 2023 IHF Men’s Youth World Championship.

Yet their path to that clear gap was not easy, with several issues on the way at the start of the game, including a red card conceded by Robin Molnár, a key player on both sides of the ball, after only nine minutes, who had scored two goals before his elimination.

However, after a well-taken timeout, Hungary got into the groove, especially on defence, hampering Morocco’s chances of scoring as soon as they got the chance. Led in attack by the excellent Csörgő, Hungary widened the gap until the end of the first half to eight goals, 19:11, creating an unassailable lead.

Back into the fold at the IHF Men’s Youth World Championship for the first time since Tunisia 2009, Morocco had their share of success against Hungary, especially with their back line, but it was too little for them to have a fighting chance in the game.

With Hungary changing their lines, the gap still floated around 10 goals, as the European side threw off Croatia 2023 in style, with a big win, a statement of intent for them to follow into the junior side’s success, who finished on the second place at the 2023 IHF Men’s Junior World Championship last month.

In the end, it was an excellent result for Hungary, who had 13 outfield players score at least a goal, and a good warm-up for the following games against New Zealand and Slovenia, which will follow in the next three days in the preliminary round at Croatia 2023, with the European side’s 37:28 win enabling them to improve their chances of progression for the main round.

hummel player of the Match: Zsombor Szepesi (Hungary)

• Group C

Iceland vs Czechia 27:29 (17:17)

In their debut IHF Men’s Youth World Championship game, Czechia took a maiden victory, beating Iceland 29:27 in Koprivnica.

The defeat of the northern European side was thanks largely to some expert game management in the closing moments of this all-European clash at Croatia 2023 and the two points now put the Czech side in a strong position in Group C.

Both teams came into this world championship by qualifying through European competitions – Iceland a 10th spot at the M18 EHF EURO 2022 and Czechia through one of the three, second level, M18 EHF Championships.

And it showed in a back-and-forth game, low on outstanding moments, but Czechia led when it mattered – at the half-time break and on the final buzzer.

They had an eventful end to the first period, restricting Iceland to just one strike in the final 10 minutes and going on a 4:0 run themselves. This unanswered scoring sequence included three strikes from Ondřej Štěpán to help his side to a two-goal (12:10) half-time lead in a 30-minute period which had seen 14 different players hit the back of the net.

Iceland came out early in the second with their own 4:0 run to push 14:13 ahead with five minutes gone (35th minute) and then promptly extended it to three moments later (18:15, 42nd minute).

This led to an early Czechia time-out (41:24 on the clock) with Iceland threatening to run away with it, capitalising on an 8:2 scoring run.

But the game turned around again as Czechia pushed on to outscore Iceland 6:1 going into the last five minutes (50-55th minute), causing an Iceland time-out.

Eventually, the game draw level with a few minutes left on the clock, but when Czechia goalkeeper Pavel Dufek made a crucial stop with his side 28:27 up and less than 60 seconds remaining, the Czechs sensed victory.

They then expertly managed the closing moments, rounding it off under passive play from that man Štěpán who ended the second period like the first – his strike ensuring his side led by two at the buzzer.

The result sparked wild celebrations from the Czechia bench as the young team wrote yet another page in the already-famous Czech handball history books.

hummel Player of the Match: David Flajsar (Czechia)

 

 

 

 

• Group E

Austria vs Mexico 49:26 (21:10) 

After Denmark had beaten Chile earlier today, the other European side in Group E also opened the world championship with a win, as Austria proved too strong for Mexico. So the Danes and the Austrians now lead the group with two points.

The Europeans were dominant already in the first half, boasting a 78% shot efficiency compared to Mexico's 38%. Their goalkeeper Leon Bergmann did a particularly good job, recording 10 saves by the break. Thanks to his heroics, Austria led 10:2 in minute 17, and although Mexico then somewhat improved their attack, an 11-goal gap at half-time hardly left any hope for the Central American side. 

Bergmann, who was elected "hummel Player of the Match", ended it with 13 saves and a 50% save rate, but his teammate Marko Bogojevic stood in Austria's goal for much of the time after the break. While he did not stop so many balls, the Europeans became even more powerful in attack, and in the end, they were just one goal shy of the 50-goal mark.

13 of their players scored at least once, with Bernhard Huber converting all his 11 shots and Elmar Böhm and Stefan Wuzella adding eight more goals each. Overall, the Austrians boasted an 84% shot efficiency and scored 14 goals from fast breaks, so their victory was more than deserved. 

hummel Player of the Match: Leon Bergmann (Austria)

• Group G

Argentina vs United States of America 33:21 (20:10)

The South and Central American Men's Youth Handball Championship winners started their Croatia 2023 journey on the right foot, beating the debutants at the start of the competition without breaking a sweat.

The inexperienced USA need to tune their engines at their first-ever appearance on the big stage if they want to get their hands on the first win. Argentina, looking confident, will aim to improve their result from the 2019 IHF Men's Youth World Championship when they finished 14th.

For the first ten minutes of the game, debutants from the United States of America were keeping up with the Argentinian style of handball, setting an 8:8 on the scoreboard. However, too many turnovers, coming from the lack of experience, saw the USA soon rear back.

Argentina, led by Nicolas Barcelo Garcia, the team's top scorer, made a seven-goal run and left the USA without a goal scored for 11 minutes. Martin Bilello's team converted only 45% of shots while Argentina, by the end of the first half, was on 75%.

The ten-goal gap was hit in the 27th minute as Lucas Obregón, the "hummel Player of the match", netted a powerful one from the fast break, and the USA were not able to make it better before the break. The outcome is no surprise when you have 11 turnovers compared to your opponent's three.

Not much changed in the second half, as Argentina scored easily from each attempt. In the first 15 minutes, they netted eight times, while the USA managed to pass only four behind the back of Argentina's goalkeeper Santino Diotallevi who was at 14 saves. With a secured win in their hands, Argentina slowed the pace down in the last ten minutes of the game.

The USA tried to close the gap with different defence tactics and man-to-man games and succeeded, in a way. From trailing by 15 they ended the game with 12 goals behind, and the goalkeeper Grayson Wide, from Skuru IK, got to the 12 saves.

hummel Player of the Match: Lucas Ezequiel Obregón Gomez (Argentina)

Photos: Croatia 2023/Kolektiff images