2023 IHF World Men's Handball Championship: Six young players to watch
Slovenia centre back Domen Makuc and Iceland goalkeeper Viktor Hallgrimsson are among the top prospects on show in Poland and Sweden.
Handball
Which youngsters will make the biggest impact at the 2023 IHF World Men's Handball Championship in Poland and Sweden?
The majority of men's handball stars start making their presence felt after their teenage years and, even then, few make the top national sides until their early 20s.
Below are six players under the age of 23, some of who have already shown their ability on the biggest stages of club handball.
Read on to find out who they are, and why they could be making headlines in the tournament from 11-29 January.
Domen Makuc (Slovenia)
Long seen as one of the future stars of handball, Domen Makuc was the youngest member of the Slovenian team which won the 2018 U20 European Championship on home soil.
In July 2020, he made the big move to Barcelona from RK Celje Pivovarna Lasko and fitted in almost instantly, helping the Catalans win the EHF Champions League title for the first time in six years before they retained the crown in June.
Makuc is an all-round talent at centre back, blessed with a sharp mind and quick feet as well as a fine range of passing. He can sneak into the line on occasion to score goals from close range, and has the pace to go solo on the fast break.
The 22-year-old already looks like establishing himself as a Barça regular for years to come, and will hope to lead Slovenia into at least the quarter-finals as they bid to match their best ever finish of bronze in 2017.
They will need to step up on their showing at last year's EHF EURO where a narrow one-goal defeat to Montenegro saw them go out in the preliminary round.
Viktor Hallgrimsson (Iceland)
Iceland's Viktor Hallgrimsson cemented his reputation as one of handball's best young goalkeepers by being named to the All-Star team at EHF EURO 2022.
He is backing that up with a hugely impressive first season at HBC Nantes in France after three successful years at Danish side GOG.
At 2.03m, the 22-year-old from Reykjavik is an imposing figure between the posts, but he has speed and agility to match his height.
Two-time reigning Icelandic Sportsperson of the Year Omar Ingi Magnusson is the star of the side and recently won his second IHF Super Globe title with SC Magdeburg.
But while Magnusson will be tasked with scoring the goals, Hallgrimsson is more than up to the job of stopping them.
Hassan Kaddah (Egypt)
Egypt claimed their first ever Men's Youth World Championship in 2019, beating Germany in the final in North Macedonia.
Two players stood out for the young Pharaohs: MVP Ahmed Mohamed, who currently plays for USAM Nimes in France, and tournament top scorer Hassan Kaddah.
Both men went to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in 2021, and were part of the Egypt side that reached the semi-finals, going out to France.
Mohamed actually enjoyed more game time in Tokyo although Kaddah did score four times in the bronze medal match defeat to Spain.
In October, Kaddah signed a deal which will see him leave Zamalek HC for Polish giants Lomza Industria Kielce ahead of next season.
As if to prove the worth of that signing, the 22-year-old left back showed his immense scoring power while on loan at Saudi side Khaleej in the IHF Super Globe later that month.
He was top of the goal charts again, finding the net 45 times in just four games including 11 against eventual champions SC Magdeburg, 14 in the win over SL Benfica, and 16 against Esperance de Tunis.
At 2.05m, he is one of the tallest players in handball and boasts a fearsome shot.
Egypt are not exactly short of options at left back with Kaddah, Mohamed, and Dinamo Bucuresti star Ali Zein all preferring to play in that position.
They might need to reshuffle the pack somewhat to allow all three to play key roles, especially if Kaddah continues his prolific form.
Eric Johansson (Sweden)
Left back Eric Johansson has already made the transition to talented youngster to European star.
After two superb seasons in the Swedish league with hometown club Eskilstuna Guif, Norwegian side Elverum beat a number of teams including THW Kiel to his signature in May 2021.
But just eight months later, and after some fine performances in Sweden's run to EHF EURO 2022 glory, German giants Kiel rekindled their interest and made a deal to acquire Johansson's services from the following season.
Before making his move, he helped Elverum to a third consecutive Norwegian League title and to the playoffs of the EHF Champions League where they fell to a Paris Saint-Germain side boasting the likes of Nikola Karabatic and Polish line player Kamil Syprzak.
His 75 goals in 18 games in the Champions League was the second highest tally for Elverum behind another rising star, Norway centre back Tobias Grøndahl, who netted 81 times.
Johansson has continued his stellar form at Kiel, top scoring for them in the Champions League with 28 goals in six games before fracturing a finger bone in training.
The 22-year-old has recovered in time for the World Championship, and will be key to Sweden's hopes of going one better than 2021 and clinching a first world crown since 1999.
While he is best known for his powerful shots from range, he can show subtlety in terms of providing assists and scoring goals.
Francisco Costa (Portugal)
At just 17, right back Francisco Mota da Costa is already one of the hottest properties in handball.
'Kiko' and older brother Martim, 20, started at FC Porto but both followed their father, coach Ricardo Costa, to Sporting CP when he moved at the start of the 2021/22 season.
The siblings both made their international debuts in the World Championship play-off against the Netherlands which Portugal won with the Dutch needing a wildcard.
They were similarly effective in the EHF European League with Kiko scoring 61 goals and left back Martim 51 in their run to the last 16 where they went out to German powerhouses SC Magdeburg.
And then, in last July's U20 European Championship on home soil, Kiko was the tournament's top scorer with 58 goals - including 11 in the final - as Portugal took silver behind Spain.
He has kept up that form in this season's European League, scoring 49 goals in eight games so far, so he is definitely one to look out for .
Michal Olejniczak (Poland)
A member of Lomza Industria Kielce's star-studded and cosmopolitan squad, Michal Olejniczak has had limited opportunities to show his worth in the EHF Champions League.
But the young centre back remains an interesting prospect, and he will have learned plenty from watching Croatia's Igor Karacic occupy the starting berth at Kielce.
He was vying with fellow youngster Piotr Jedraszczyk for first choice playmaker for Poland at EHF EURO 2022, and will again be looking to supply the likes of club colleagues Arkadiusz Moryto and Szymon Sicko with chances to rack up goals.
He can also score himself, using his tall 1.95m frame to break through or shoot from long range.
This will be 21-year-old Olejniczak's fourth major tournament having played at two EHF EUROs and the 2021 World Championship.