62 goals, 19 assists and a 72% shooting efficiency. That is an MVP performance for an IHF Women’s Junior World Championship edition, if there was one, and Kirstine Emilie Hoppe is surely one of the reasons why Denmark are back again in the final of the competition for the first time since 2016.

Six wins and one draw were enough to propel the Scandinavian side back onto the podium after finishing sixth in 2018, fifth in 2022 and fourth in 2024, with a dramatic semi-final against Spain seeing Denmark through, with a 30:29 overtime win.

That MVP performance was Kirstine Emilie Hoppe’s, and the left back has been absolutely immense for the Scandinavian side, averaging 8.86 goals per match, being her team’s top scorer in all but one match – the draw against Montenegro, 32:32.

Hoppe’s ascension is nothing short of spectacular, but she was, alongside Denmark, at the receiving end for a bitter blow two years ago, at the 2024 IHF Women’s Youth World Championship, when Denmark conceded a 22:23 loss in the final against the same Spain team.

In that tournament, Hoppe scored 21 goals, was Denmark’s fourth best scorer and only converted 44% of her shots. Now, she is virtually the top scorer, holding a 20-goal advantage over Germany’s Chiara Rohr, the next player to be still active in the competition. 

 

Therefore, the improvement is absolutely huge.

“I honestly do not know what to say. I just play. I’m just happy I am in this team and we are doing so good and are qualified for the final,” says Hoppe.

Something was brewing since the start of China 2026, when Hoppe scored seven goals against Guinea, despite featuring a little more than a half in the match. Double-digits tallies, with 11 goals against Algeria and 10 against the People’s Republic of China followed.

Then, Hoppe scored 12 against Czechia and five against Montenegro, before scoring nine against Serbia. Consistent all over the board, the left back has been Denmark’s main weapon in attack, but has alternated great shooting with creating spaces for her teammates, as defences quickly shifted their attention to her.

But against Spain in the semi-final which went to overtime, Hoppe faced her toughest test yet. In fact, she missed nine shots, after missing 15 in the previous six matches combined, facing a tough defence, which has definitely kept her on her toes.

Between the last whistle of the regular time and the start of the overtime, the Denmark team ran to the lockeroom, talked for three minutes and then came back properly motivated.

“We looked each other in the eyes and really wanted it. It was very tough. It was very physical and they're a very good team, so it was very tough, but we made it and we are now in the final,” says Hoppe.

 

This generation of Denmark has already proven talented when they took the silver medal at the 2024 IHF Women’s Youth World Championship. One year later, they were on the podium, finishing third, at the W19 EHF EURO 2025. They will be ready to go into the seniors with one more medal.

It’s Denmark’s first since 2016, when they won the final against Russia in overtime, 32:28, with players like Althea Reinhardt, Mie Højlund or Lærke Nolsøe in the roster. Two years before, Denmark finished third, with Line Haugsted and Mette Tranborg in the team.

Højlund and centre back Helena Elver are two of the players which Hoppe cites as influential for the modeling of her game, as “fast Danish backs”.

But the way Hoppe came to play handball is all but conventional.

“Actually, I started because one of my best friend's father forced me to. He was missing some players in his team. It was a very small team in Denmark. So he forced me to start and then I started liking it. And then I kept playing and now I'm here,” says the left back.

Now featuring for Horsens, Hoppe will surely attract a lot of interest, after a performance of this calibre on the biggest of stages.

Yet the most important thing for her now is to have fun.

“I'm playing for fun and as long as it's fun, I'll keep playing. I dream of becoming very good and putting layers on top of my game,” concludes Hoppe, who will feature Sunday in the most important match in her career – the 2026 IHF Women’s Junior World Championship final, against Germany.

“It feels nice. We can’t wait to be on the court again.”