The second day of the World U20 Championships in Kuwait brought plenty of goals. Even 219 goals were scored in eight games.
Montenegro achieved the biggest win of the day by blowing away host Kuwait – 42:7.
There were no surprises, as most of the favorites beat their respective rivals with ease, while the most exciting match was an encounter between China and South Africa, which was decided by a goal – China won 14:13.
Canada defeated Russia 12:10. Other matches saw no thrilling endings.
2019 World Men’s Junior Championships, Kuwait, Day 2
Group A
Serbia – Japan 13:7 (3:3, 3:1, 2:3, 5:0)
Serbia: Barac 4, Vucinic 4, Martinovic 2, Stanojevic 1, Mitrovic 1, Brankovic 1.
Japan: Suzuki 2, Hizume 2, Kobayashi 1, Tsuta 1, Inaba 1.
China – South Africa 14:13 (4:5, 3:2, 4:2, 3:4)
China: Lu 4, Cheng 2, Gao 2, Wang 2, He 2, Shi 1, Zhu 1.
South Africa: Howard 4, Stone 3, Faber 2, Swanepoel 1, Dowsett 1, Hablutzel 1
Croatia bye.
Serbia, the bronze medalist from Belgrade 2017, needed some time to break a persistent Japanese team. The Serbs managed to stop the Japanese best scorer Yusuke Inaba, but the Asians kept up with the favorites for almost three quarters. A minute before the end of the third period, the sides were tied at 7:7. Serbia scored the last six goals in the match for a 13:7 victory. Andrej Barac and Djordje Vucinic were the best scorers with 4 goals each.
Two underdogs in this group, China and South Africa, fought a hard battle. In the middle of the third period, the score was 9:9. Than China netted two goals in a row and gained an 11:9 lead before the last break. South Africa equalized early in the fourth – 12:12. China replied with two goals for a 14:12 advantage. Two and a half minutes before the final buzzer, the Africans scored their 13th goal, but China managed to keep the minimal advantage.
1 Croatia 1 – 2
2 Serbia 1 – 2
3 Japan 2 – 2
4 China 2 – 2
5 South Africa 2 – 0
Group B
Egypt – Spain 4:18 (0:4, 1:2, 1:7, 2:5)
Egypt: Rezk 2, Elzayat 1,Fawzy 1.
Spain: Alegre 4, Sanahuja 3, Prieto 2, Linares 2, Paul 2, Asensio 2, Bertran 1, Valera 1, Ponferrada 1.
Russia – Canada 10:12 (2:4, 4:3, 2:2, 2:3)
Russia: Vasilev 6, Serebrennikov 1, Zinnurov 1, Makhiyanov 1, Pelikh 1.
Canada: Cote 3, Djerkovic 2, Henning 2, D’Souza 2, Giannatsis 1, Dabic 1, Tanasijevic 1.
Hungary bye.
Spain left no chance to Egypt and kept the 1st place of the table.
Canada defeated Russia in the match which might be crucial for the 3rd place in the group. Canada opened the match with a 4:0 lead, but Russia managed to come back. The Russians leveled the score twice– 9:9 and 10:10 in the fourth period, but Canada secured a win with two unanswered goals in the last five minutes. Russia’s Ivan Vasilev netted 6 goals, but Canada’s goalkeeper Brody McKnight was the man of the match.
1 Spain 2 – 4
2 Canada 2 – 4
3 Hungary 1 – 0
4 Russia 1 – 0
5 Egypt 2 – 0
Group C
Montenegro – Kuwait 42:7 (12:0, 4:3, 13:3, 13:1)
Montenegro: Mijuskovic 9, D. Radovic 6, S. Cetkovic 5, Perkovic 4, Draskovic 4, Vuskovic 4, Matkovic 3, Franeta 2, Vucurovic 2, Macic 2, Murisic 1.
Kuwait: Mobarak 3, Hassan 1, M. Abdullah 1, Mohammad 1, J. Abdullah 1.
Iran – USA 4:27 (2:10, 1:4, 0:6, 1:7)
Iran: Aghaei 1, Ghareh 1, Jalilipour 1, Moradinoghondar 1.
USA: Daube 5, Ehrhardt 4, Osborne 4, Gruwell 3, Yuno 3, Molthen 3, Zaan 2, Vavic 1, Woodhead 1, McQuet 1.
Favorites showed no mercy to the two Arabic teams, that are far away from the world top.
Montenegro, led by Petar Mijuskovic, who netted nine goals, ran over Kuwait. USA was too strong for Iran. Hannes Daube, a member of the senior national team, was the best scorer with five goals.
1 Montenegro 1 – 2
2 USA 2 – 2
3 Italy 2 – 1
4 Iran 2 – 2
5 Kuwait 2 – 0
Group D
New Zealand – Greece 5:14 (1:6, 1:1, 1:4, 2:3)
New Zealand: Paterson 2, Matthews 1, Ferigo 1, Morris 1.
Greece: Nikolaidis 4, Kalogeropoulos 4, Papanastasiou 3, Gkouvetsis 1, Kakaris 1, Chalyvopoulos 1.
Brazil – Uzbekistan 23:6 (6:2, 6:0, 4:2, 7:2)
Brazil: Fichman 5, Pires 4, Campdelli 4, Vizacre 4, Scarabelim 2, Chiappini 2, Pessin 1, Ferreira 1.
Uzbekistan: Osipyan 2, Turgunov 1, Sobirjonov 1, Yusufjanov 1, Khoshimov 1.
Australia bye.
Titleholder Greece took new two points with an easy win over New Zealand. “Kiwis” scored an opening goal, but the Greeks answered with a 6:0 series by the first break. Both sides scored a goal each in the second quarter. Early in the second half, Greece went 11:2 up and killed all excitements.
Brazil had no problems to defeat Uzbekistan.
1 Greece 2 – 4
2 Brazil 1 – 2
3 New Zealand 2 – 2
4 Australia 1 – 0
5 Uzbekistan 2 – 0
