Cyprus and Paraguay won their Placement Matches and will face off for the second time in four days in the Placement Match 5/6 at the 2025 IHF Men’s Emerging Nations Championship.

Cyprus secured a narrow win against the Republic of Moldova, 24:23, while Paraguay delivered a clear 34:22 win against Azerbaijan.

PLACEMENT MATCHES 5-8
Paraguay vs Azerbaijan 34:22 (14:8)

In their maiden edition of the IHF Men’s Emerging Nations Championship, Paraguay secured their second win and will finish either fifth or sixth, after another good performance, 34:22 against Azerbaijan.

For the first time in this edition, Azerbaijan delivered a good start of the match and led until the 16th minute, 5:4, but then Paraguay started to get a grip on the match and used a 4:0 unanswered run, followed by yet another 4:0 unanswered run to open a six-goal lead, 12:6.

Once again, their top scorer, Jorge Rojas Gutierrez, was unstoppable, hitting eight goals, while goalkeeper Martin Gonzalez Jimenez finished the match with 15 saves, for a 44% saving efficiency.

While the first half only produced 22 goals, the second one had a faster pace, with the two sides combining for 34 goals. Indeed, Paraguay were unstoppable in attack, scoring 20 times, with all but one of their outfield players failing to score one goal, while Azerbaijan had Sabir Nazaraliyev, Maharram Mammadli and Elkin Guilyev combine for 16 goals.

In the end, Paraguay secured their largest win in the history of the competition, 34:22, sending Azerbaijan in the Placement Match 7/8, facing Cyprus in the Placement Match 5/6.

Player of the Match: Jorge Rojas Gutierrez (Paraguay)

PLACEMENT MATCHES 5-8
Republic of Moldova vs Cyprus 23:24 (11:11)

Runners-up in the previous edition of the IHF Men’s Emerging Nations Championship, Cyprus were disappointing in the preliminary round of this edition, conceding three losses and ending up on the last place in Group A.

Now, they had a chance at redemption, trying to secure a win against the Republic of Moldova, which had finished third in the previous phase of the competition, but scored their first goal after five minutes and 11 seconds.

However, the Republic of Moldova bounced back and with Vladislav Caraman and Roman Zacaciurin combining for seven goals in the first half, they bounced back and took back the lead, 7:6, after 14 minutes.

Cyprus used a 3:0 unanswered run spurred by Nikolaos Karkalatos, who came back in the squad after being taken out in the last match, against Bulgaria, to werestle back the lead, but the two teams ended in a deadlock after 30 minutes, 11:11.

After Moldova started the second half better, Cyprus used another 3:0 unanswered run to take back the lead, 15:14, and used another 3:1 run spurred by Karkalatos to secure their maiden two-goal lead after more than 30 minutes, 19:17, with 16 minutes to go.

While goalkeeper Andreas Papalambrianou saves 14 shots for a 40% saving efficiency, being named the Player of the Match, Karkalatos added seven goals and five assists, to keep Cyprus in front throughout the last minutes of the match.

Eventually, Cyprus secured their maiden win of the competition, 24:23, as the Republic of Moldova scored only five goals in the last 22 minutes of the match, heading to the Placement Match 7/8, where they meet Azerbaijan.

Cyprus will finish fifth or sixth, with their final place being decided in the Placement Match 5/6 against Paraguay, a team which they lost against in the preliminary round.

Player of the Match: Andreas Papalambrianou (Cyprus)