Mighty Serbia make history with quarter-final win over the Faroe Islands

With a virtually flawless first half and a resilient performance in the second half, when they frustrated their opponents in defence, Serbia made it to the semi-finals of the 2023 IHF Men’s Junior World Championship, taking a 30:27 win over the Faroe Islands.

Supported by hundreds of fans who made the trip to Germany, the Faroe Islands lost any chance to challenge for a medal, but their performance was still one to provide a lot of hope for the future, with this generation boasting several players who might make their mark at the senior level.

Quarter-final 1

• Faroe Islands vs Serbia 27:30 (12:17)

The Faroe Islands were definitely the darlings of the 2023 IHF Men’s Junior World Championship and their excellent performances in the preliminary round and main round lifted them from the dark horse status to a serious challenger for a medal at Germany/Greece 2023.

However, in such a competition, the form can be topsy-turvy even for the sides which impressed before the knockout rounds and this is exactly what happened in the quarter-final game against Serbia where Faroe’s top performers were not at the top of their game in the first half, enabling their opponents to take a healthy five-goal lead.

In attack, top scorer Elias Ellefsen Á Skipagotu missed four shots, while goalkeeper Pauli Jacobsen – who had seven saves for a 35% saving efficiency – conceded some easy goals, especially from Serbia’s backs.

Feeling that the game was there for the taking, Serbia, which won the bronze medal at the M20 EHF EURO 2022 last summer, continued to push, with excellent contributions from backs Boško Stanisavljević and Miloš Kos, who had 11 goals between them after 30 minutes, while goalkeeper Luka Krivokapić had 10 saves for a 37% saving efficiency.

Changes were needed for the Faroe Islands and nothing looked to have changed at the start of the second half, as easy one-on-one shots that hit the post continued to frustrate them, with no less than six shots hitting the post until the 40th minute.

With a strong 3:0 start of the second half, Serbia looked to be in total control of the match, boasting a 20:12 lead in the 34th minute. Still, the plucky Faroe team, supported by their enthusiastic fans, dished another surprise, after the one provided by their late addition of the MVP of the M17 EHF EURO 2022, centre back Oli Mittun, who made his debut at Germany/Greece 2023 in this match, with five goals.

Ellefsen Á Skipagotu quarterbacked Faroe with nine goals and 11 assists, having a direct hand in 74% of his team’s goals in the game. And with a stronger defence, boosted by a 47% outing from goalkeeper Aleksandar Lacok, the Faroe Islands really did everything they could to cut the gap to two goals, 25:23, when there were seven minutes left on the clock.

But Serbia proved to have the necessary maturity, especially in defence, to pull through and secure an excellent win, as the gap created in the first half and in the first minutes of the second half was too much for the Faroe side to erase.

Eventually, Serbia clinched a 30:27 win, making their first appearance in history in the semi-finals of the IHF Men’s Junior World Championship, 18 years after Serbia and Montenegro finished second at Hungary 2005.

On the other hand, the first loss at Germany/Greece 2023 for the Faroe Islands means that the plucky underdog will not have a chance to secure a medal, with the tournament ending in disappointment for the Nordic team, which will now feature in the Placement Matches 5-8 and will still secure their best-ever result in the competition.

hummel Player of the Match: Luka Krivokapić (Serbia)