In their maiden match at the IHF Men’s World Championship after a 28-year wait, Italy secured their second win in history in the world handball flagship competition and their largest one so far, throwing off the competition in style, with a 32:25 win over Tunisia.

GROUP B
Italy vs Tunisia 32:25 (17:11)

Returning a 28-year wait at the IHF Men’s World Championship meant that Italy had a chip on their shoulder, as well as a big pressure to perform in the opening match at Croatia/Denmark/Norway 2025, were they to secure the coveted main round berth, which they openly talked about prior to the start of the competition.

They had some experience in their squad, less than Tunisia, but also provided some interesting performances in the last friendly competition before the start of the IHF Men’s World Championship, beating Kosovo and Switzerland, but falling against the Netherlands.

Nevertheless, Riccardo Trillini’s side was full of hope prior to the match, yet their start was not as they would have envisioned, especially on the defensive side of the ball, where Tunisia used their superior physical attributes to constantly punish Italy’s aggressive 5-1 defence, as line player Islem Jbeli scored two of Tunisia’s first two goals and drew a penalty shot for the African side.

Italy quickly backpedalled and found another gear in defence, starting to get more and more stingy, constantly blocking Tunisia’s shots from the back line. On the back of that performance, they saw some fantastic fast breaks converted by right wing Leo Prantner, who singlehandedly dominated Tunisia in the first half.

Prantner, who has some Bundesliga experience, but just returned on the court after six months of absence, due to a knee injury, scored nine goals in the first half, only two less than Tunisia, as Italy bounced back in style.

A 7:2 run for Italy, spanning between the 15th and the 26th minutes, was responsible for opening up a big gap, which saw the European side, featuring for the second time at the IHF Men’s World Championship, enjoying a comfortable 17:11 lead at the break, with Tunisia’s shooting efficiency dropping to 50%, as opposed to Italy’s fantastic 78%.

Prantner was limited to only one goal in the second half, taking his overall tally in the match to 10 goals, to become the top goal scorer after the first match at Croatia/Denmark/Norway 2025, but that did not deter Italy to push even harder to secure their second win in history at the IHF Men’s World Championship.

Tunisia attempted to mount a comeback, riding a 3:0 run to cut Italy’s lead to four goals, 19:15, but it was the closest as the African side could get, as experienced goalkeeper Domenico Ebner started to save some shots, finishing the match with 11 saves and a 31% saving efficiency.

The African side could not stop line player Andrea Parisini, who shrugged off an injury to be ready for the match and scored four goals, as a 5:1 Italy run between the 43th and 52nd minutes eventually decided the match, which went in Italy’s way, 32:25.

This was Italy’s largest-ever win in the history at the IHF Men’s World Championship, beating their previous record of six goals, set in 1997, when they beat Argentina, 21:15.

Italy recorded a dream start at the 2025 IHF Men’s World Championship and are on their way to the main round, provided they secure another win in the last two matches against Algeria and Denmark, while Tunisia have their work cut out and face must-win matches against Denmark and Algeria, in order to avoid heading to the President’s Cup for the third edition in a row in the world handball flagship competition.

hummel Player of the Match: Leo Prantner (Italy)