Brazil – Preview
Coach: Hélio Lisboa Justino
Team Roster: Published Thursday 25 June
Key Men: Rangel Luan Rosa (goalkeeper), José Guilherme Toledo (right back)
Road to Qualification: Tournament hosts
History in Tournament: 1977-1989: Did not qualify (DNQ), 1991: 15th, 1993: DNQ, 1995: 17th, 1997: 16th, 1999: 13th, 2001: 11th, 2003: 8th, 2005: 16th, 2007: 16th, 2009: 9th, 2011: 11th, 2013: 6th
Overview
Brazil qualified for the 2015 IHF Men’s Junior World Championship as hosts. It will be the second time they have organised the competition, following the 2003 edition, when they finished in 8th place.
They had a formidable performance in March at the Men’s Junior Pan American Handball Championship in Foz do Iguaçú, Brazil where the team, coached by Hélio Lisboa, won all their matches comfortably, including their final one in the round-robin tournament against Argentina, their classic rivals – winning gold for the fifth time.
In Foz, Rangel Luan Rosa was awarded best goalkeeper in the tournament, while playmaker Acácio Moreira Filho won Most Valuable Player.
Gustavo Rodrigues (back) and Rudolf Hackbarth (wing) were also outstanding, scoring 27 and 25 goals respectively.
For the Pan American Championship Brazil did not count on José Guilherme Toledo (right back) or João Pedro Silva (centre back), who play in the Liga ASOBAL in Spain and participated in the 2015 Qatar Men’s World Handball Championship.
Coach Helinho and Jordi Ribera – trainer of men’s senior Brazil team – have come to an agreement so promising players can take part in this Men’s Junior World Championship rather than being called up for the Pan American Games in Toronto taking place at the same time.
“As we have many important competitions at the same time, we found it more appropriate for them to play in the juniors,” Ribera explained.
10 players potentially in the Brazilian squad for the U21 WCh are now training with the senior team in the city of João Pessoa in Paraiba, Brazil.
They will face Chile, Cuba and Tunisia in the Four Nations Tournament, from 10th to 13th June held in the city and Hélio Lisboa believes that “it is good for these players to gain experience practising with the older ones.”
The best position Brazil have reached in a Junior World Championship was sixth, in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2013, but with home advantage they are confident about what they could accomplish in 2015.
"Our goal is to reach the semi-finals and improve our performance from the last World Cup,” said Lisboa. “In the semi-finals anything can happen.”
Group at Brazil 2015: Group D: Germany, Egypt, Norway, Uruguay and Japan
Games at Brazil 2015:
All times local
Full Brazil - 2015 IHF Men's Junior World Championship Fixture List
Sunday 19 July: BRA-JPN (18:30)
Tuesday 21 July: NOR-BRA (18:30)
Thursday 23 July: BRA-EGY (18:30)
Friday 24 July: BRA-URU (18:30)
Sunday 26 July: GER-BRA (18:30)