Eight junior (U20) national teams took part in the 2024 South and Central American Men's Junior Handball Championship, with four of them also jointly taking part in the Continental Phase of the Men's IHF Trophy South and Central America in a competition which took place between 29 October and 2 November in Managua, Nicaragua.

In the opening round, the participants were divided into two groups, and the two best teams from each group progressed to the semi-finals, while the sides which finished third and fourth headed to the Placement matches 5/8.
In Group A, Argentina won all three games, 36:17 against Venezuela, 41:13 against Guatemala and 27:25 against Chile, qualifying for the semi-finals, alongside Chile.

In Group B, Brazil boasted a perfect record with wins over Nicaragua, 41:26, Colombia, 41:23, and Uruguay, 27:13, and progressed to the semi-final alongside Uruguay, while hosts Nicaragua and Colombia ranked third and fourth, respectively.

In the semi-finals, Argentina proved too strong for Uruguay, 27:16, while Brazil defeated Chile 32:14. Uruguay won bronze after taking a commanding win over Chile in the third-place match, 23:14.

In the final, Argentina were losing to Brazil at half-time (12:14), but made a second-half comeback to win 26:25 and clinched the the title at the 2024 South and Central American Men's Junior Handball Championship. It was their second continental title, after the one clinched in 2019, while Brazil completed their hat-trick of medals, with another silver.

The first three placed sides – Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay, which secured the bronze with a 23:14 win over Chile, qualified for the 2025 IHF Men’s Junior World Championship, which will take place next June in Poland. 

On the other hand, the best-placed side between the Trophy hopefuls, Nicaragua, Colombia, Venezuela and Guatemala booked their ticket to the Intercontinental Phase of the Men's IHF Trophy. 

It was hosts Nicaragua who earned the ticket, after a hard-fought match against Colombia. Eventually, after the match was tied at the break, 17:17, Nicaragua emerged victorious, with a 33:30 win, which helped them seal the fifth place.

Final ranking
1.    Argentina
2.    Brazil
3.    Uruguay
4.    Chile  5. Nicaragua  6. Colombia  7. Venezuela  8. Guatemala

Credit photo: Handball Argentina