Co-hosts Germany enjoyed a good start of the 2025 IHF Women's World Championship, as they proved too strong for fellow European side Iceland and made a big step towards the main round. In turn, the Icelandic side, who are playing their just third World Championship in history, will now try to open their account in their next match, on Friday against Serbia.

GROUP C
Germany vs Iceland 32:25 (18:14)
 
Iceland led just twice throughout the match, 2:1 in the third minute and then 6:5 four minutes later. While the Germans struggled early in the game, then the goals from Alina Grijseels and Viola Leuchter spurred their 5:0 run to help establish a 10:6 lead. While Germany's goalkeeping was far from perfect, their defence was solid, and the attack converted their chances well, boasting a 77% shooting efficiency in the first half.

Iceland continued to fight hard and cut the gap to just two goals on a few occasions, but they were unable to do more. In the closing minutes of the first half, two goals from Antje Döll spearheaded Germany's 3:0 surge before Sandra Erlingsdottir's goal from a 7m shot closed the gap to four goals just before half-time.

In the second half, Katharina Filter improved Germany's goalkeeping, ending the match with 11 saves and a 35% saving efficiency. In turn, Grijseels, who was elected Player of the Match, scored seven goals, while her teammates Nieke Kühne and Jenny Behrend also contributed to the victory, netting five times each.

After the break, the co-hosts' advantage became more pronounced, as they pulled clear at six goals, 21:15, in the 36th minute. Then they had a poor spell, with too many turnovers, and Iceland improved their attack to put some pressure on Gaugisch's team.

However, they failed to do more than reducing the deficit to three goals (22:25) in the 49th minute. In the next five minutes, the unstoppable Grijseels spurred a 5:0 run, which left no questions about the winners, and the home crowd in Stuttgart was happy about their team's perfect start, with a 32:25 win to throw off the competition.

Player of the Match: Alina Grijseels (Germany)