The 2026 IHF Women's Junior World Championship in Jinzhong, People's Republic of China, is about to reach its climax on Sunday, 5 July, as the last four games will be played.

The two best teams of the competition, Germany and Denmark, will meet in the final, and each of them hopes to make the last step and win the title. France and Spain, who lost their semi-final battles on Friday, will fight for the bronze, and we will also see a Balkan derby between Montenegro and Serbia in Placement Match 5-6, and an intercontinental clash between Norway and Japan in Placement Match 7-8.

Final
18:30 CST — Germany v Denmark

Placement Match 3-4
16:00 CST — France v Spain

Placement Match 5-6
13:45 CST — Montenegro v Serbia

Placement Match 7-8
11:30 CST — Norway v Japan

Germany v Denmark — 18:30 CST

Last year, the two teams met in the W19 EHF EURO 2025 semi-final, and Germany had the upper hand, winning 37:31 on their way to the title. Now their encounter has even more at stake, as the opponents will be fighting for the IHF Women's Junior World Championship title.

Germany won this trophy just once in history, at North Macedonia 2008, and now they have reached their first final in 18 years since that triumph. At the current tournament, the Germans remain the only team to boast a perfect record, winning all seven of their games.

Some of these victories were really hard-fought. In the last main round match, Germany beat Spain 29:28, and in the quarter-finals, they defeated Norway 23:22. But in the semi-final, their advantage over the reigning champions France was more pronounced, as Aylin Bornhardt’s nine goals powered them to a 36:31 victory.

With 35 goals, Bornhardt is Germany's second-best scorer at the tournament behind Chiara Rohr, who ranks 13th in the overall scoring chart with 42 goals. Denmark's Kirstine Emilie Hoppe continues to top the scorers' list with 62 goals, and her team boast the best attack at China 2026 with 253 goals, while Germany are in second place with 250.

Denmark won six of their seven matches on the road to the final, only sharing the spoils with Montenegro (32:32) in their last main round game. At the knockout stage, the Danes enjoyed a commanding win against Serbia in the quarter-finals, 38:26, before grabbing a hard-fought victory against Spain, 30:29. The unstoppable Hoppe was their top scorer in both games with nine and eight goals, respectively.

Denmark won the Women's Junior World Championship twice, in 1997 and 2016, and now they are chasing a third title, but Germany are determined to finish the tournament with a perfect record, so the final should be exciting.

France v Spain — 16:00 CST

Failing to reach the final was obviously a frustration for both opponents, but they can still end the tournament on a high, so both France and Spain hope to bounce back and win a bronze medal at China 2026.

France, who triumphed at the previous edition of the tournament in North Macedonia 2024, have no more chance to defend their title. After claiming six straight victories, they came up short in the semi-final against Germany, losing 31:36. However, they can still reach the podium and earn their third medal at this level after silver in 2012 and gold two years ago.

Spain's three most recent matches at the tournament were extremely hard-fought and ended with a one-goal gap. Following a 28:29 defeat against Germany in their last main round game, they went on to beat Japan in the quarter-final, 34:33, but conceded another narrow loss in the semi-final against Denmark, 29:30 after extra time.

Spain, who were runners-up at the W19 EHF EURO 2025, have never won a medal at the IHF Women's Junior World Championship, with fourth place at Hungary 2001 and North Macedonia 2008 being their best result at this level. Now the Spanish team have a chance to write history and earn their first medal, but they have to beat France to reach that goal.