The 2025 IHF Men’s World Championship is the first-ever to be co-hosted by three countries – Croatia, Denmark and Norway – and the 29th edition of the world handball flagship competition will bring an award which aims to reward the best young player in the competition.

The “Best Young Player Presented by Lidl” is the new award which will be presented to the best young player aged Under-21 at the 2025 IHF Men’s World Championship, underlining the common values shared by the International Handball Federation (IHF) and its Official Fresh Food Partner, Lidl, in creating a path for the top young talent to be nurtured and developed.

Deep into the main run, the group of experts supervising the competition has chosen seven Under-21 players who stood out and are still in the running for the award. At the end of the 2025 IHF Men's World Championship, one of them will be selected as the  “Best Young Player Presented by Lidl” and will be included in the All-Star team of the competition.

Francisco Costa (Portugal)

Costa has already established himself as one of the brightest talents in men’s handball over the last years. In the previous edition of the IHF Men’s World Championship, when he was only 17 years old, he scored 17 goals, but now, Costa has become even more important for his side.

Portugal are one of the six teams which have won all three matches in the preliminary round and Costa has already scored 14 goals. With a 70% shooting efficiency in the preliminary round, the right back is crucial to Portugal’s setup and can lead his team to the best performance in history in the world handball flagship competition. Just as he did in the win against Spain on Friday, when he scored eight goals, leading his side to a historic win, which saw the European side qualify for the quarter-finals.

Ian Barrufet (Spain)

The left wing, currently 20 years old, has been loaned by his parent club, FC Barcelona, to Bundesliga leaders MT Melsungen, with Barrufet scoring 52 goals this season in the German league for the competition leaders. And as Barcelona are preparing to welcome him back and slot him into the line-up from the next season, this edition of the world handball flagship competition is a test for Barrufet.

Barrufet has already featured for more than 80 minutes in the three matches in the preliminary round, sharing the duties with Daniel Fernandez, and has scored four goals, also blocking one shot and stealing two balls.

Gino Steenaerts (Switzerland)

The 19-year-old right wing has become the first choice for coach Andre Schmid and has delivered a good performance so far at the 2025 IHF Men’s World Championship, where he was a starter both against Czechia and against Poland.

He really came of age in the decider against Poland, where he played for 57 minutes and 28 seconds, showing a fantastic maturity for a player his age, scoring four goals in Switzerland’s 30:28 win, which saw them progress to the main round. His standout match was the one against Tunisia in the main round, with six goals, adding two more goals against Denmark.

So far, Steenaerts, who signed for Rhein-Neckar Löwen, where he will start playing from this summer onwards, has 14 goals in the competition.

Petar Cikusa (Spain)

Cikusa and his twin brother, Djordje, have been already touted as the next big thing coming from Spain and they proved it at the youth level, where the two twins lifted their team to the gold medal at the 2023 IHF Men’s Youth World Championship. Now, the time has come for them to shine in the senior competition.

Centre back Petar Cikusa missed the first match, against Chile, but was slotted in the line-up by coach Jordi Ribera for the next ones, as Spain are still to be defeated in the competition. He duly delivered the goods, being named the hummel Player of the Match against Japan and being on the court in crucial moments against Sweden, including in the last attack, when Spain tied the score, 29:29. He scored seven goals and dished two assists so far.

Diogo Rema Marques (Portugal)

Rema Marques was between the posts against the USA, in Portugal’s maiden match at the IHF Men’s World Championship, when he saved 10 shots for a 38% saving efficiency. He then started the match against Brazil, but after making a single save, he was replaced by Gustavo Capdeville.

Rema Marques had 57 saves for a 31% efficiency at the 2023 IHF Men’s Junior World Championship and has now emerged as one of the top goalkeepers in Portugal, ensuring a bright future for a team brimming with potential.

Daniel Blaha (Czechia)

Czechia are one of the youngest teams in the competition, with an average age of 26,39 years old. There are only five players aged 30 or older, and there are three players aged Under-21 in the squad, and Daniel Bláha is one of them.

Bláha is only 19 years old, but he is 2.12m tall and has a towering presence as a left back. He featured only once at the 2025 IHF Men’s World Championship, in the 22:29 loss against Germany, but scored two goals, underlining his big potential in his debut major international competition. He added two more goals in Czechia’s first win, 32:26, against Tunisia.

Djordje Cikusa (Spain)

Just like his twin brother, Petar, Djordje Cikusa is slowly emerging as one of the most talented players in the competition, as he has the experience and the talent to provide a helpful hand for Spain’s young side at Croatia/Denmark/Norway 2025.

The 19-year-old right back has scored four goals and delivered two assists in the preliminary round, as well as intercepting three balls in defence in roughly an hour played in the competition, with Spain relying more and more on him and the other young players in the squad, as they prepare for a new dawn.