In a roller-coaster match, Iceland did enough to ensure they finished better and managed to snatch an important win against Angola, 24:19, taking the precious two points.

GROUP H
Angola vs Iceland 19:24 (9:9)

The reigning champions of the CAHB African Women's Junior Handball Championship needed to pull their best performance, but failed to deliver at the start of North Macedonia 2024, as Iceland, which made their comeback to the IHF Women's Junior World Championship after a six-year hiatus, had a strong start, never backed down and secured a victory.

Iceland had a blistering start, taking the most out of Angola's hasty attack and created a 4:0 run in just under eight minutes. The African powerhouse looked nervous and could not find their rhythm, as the number of turnovers mounted.

Their first goal in the match came in the ninth minute, converting a penalty, while the first goal from open play came through a long-range shot in the 15th minute. Courtesy of Jorcela Tumba, who broke the spell for the Angola side.

The ball started rolling as Angola further reduced the gap and made the Nordic defence struggle, but the European side's fast-paced game kept Iceland in front. Jorcela Tumba remained Angola's main scorer in the first half and when goalkeeper Carla Mulamba saved two times in a row, it was all level just minutes before the halftime buzzer.

Balbina Nunda picked up where Tumba left off, scoring two consecutive goals to give Angola the first lead in the game, which stretched out to 15:12. Iceland struggled to recover and the sheer number of turnovers hampered any progress. In 12 minutes of the second half, they netted only three times with Elín Thorkelsdóttir and Katrín Ásmundsdóttir being the only ones who could find a way to Angola's net.

Yet, everything changed in the last ten minutes of the game as Angola's main engines stopped performing and Iceland took the most out of it to make their comeback. The 3:1 goal run saw Iceland back in front after 20 minutes, making it a neck-and-neck battle until the finish.

It was Ethel Gyda Bjarnasen who stepped up the game between the Icelandic posts and secured an important win in the closing minutes over a strong African side. Angola's morale went down in the crucial moments as mistakes started to build up and Iceland eventually sealed a 24:19 win with a five-goal unanswered run.

Angola and Iceland will have a rest day on Thursday to prepare for the second round of group H on Friday. Angola will start the day at the Sports Centre Boris Trajkovski against the United States of America, while Iceland will end the day against the hosts, North Macedonia.

Alkaloid Player of the Match: Elín Thorkelsdóttir (Iceland)