Switzerland will start the main round at the 2024 IHF Women’s Junior World Championship with two points, after the European side delivered their third win in a row in the preliminary round, 31:22, against Egypt.

GROUP B
Switzerland vs Egypt 31:22 (15:14)

Both sides had previously won their matches at North Macedonia 2024, both sides had already secured their main round berths, but both Switzerland and Egypt aimed to win this match and enhance their chances to progress to the quarter-finals, as the winners of the first match of Day 4 at the 2024 IHF Women’s Junior World Championship were taking the points into the main round.

Therefore, for the first half, there was no separating the two sides, which constantly traded blows, going head-to-head for 30 minutes, as Switzerland relied on back Nuria Bucher, who scored five times, while Egypt had Lojin Osama Abdalla, who pretty much was flawless, with seven goals.

In fact, 11 of Egypt’s 14 goals were scored by either Osama Abdalla or left wing Mariam Omar Ibrahim, who seriously carried the load, as the African side were in the lead, 10:8, after 17 minutes, and looked like they had something going on for themselves and secure the third win in a row.

But a more experienced Switzerland team, which had more options in attack, used a 5:1 run, spurred by two goals from line player Lynn Schürmann, with some excellent passes from the back line, to turn the match on its head. By half-time, Switzerland had the smallest of leads possible, 15:14.

However, the European side had the upper hand and could have won the group in case of a draw, having a better goal difference, +44, as opposed to Egypt’s +11 after the two matches. But the real game changer was Switzerland changing goalkeepers, as Charlotte Chappuis saved nine of the first 15 shots she faced, for an outstanding 60% saving efficiency.

On the back of this exquisite display, the European side opened their first three-goal lead of the match, 19:16, after 41 minutes, as Egypt scored only twice in the first 11 minutes of the second half, constantly finding it difficult to create easy-to-score situations.

Egypt’s confidence totally waned in the second half, as the pivotal moment of the match came between the 38th and the 48th minutes, when the European side used a 7:0 unanswered run, with three goals from Alessia Riner and two goals from Clairebel Coker to open an unassailable seven-goal lead, 24:16. Bucher, the Alkaloid Player of the Match, voted by fans on the IHF.info website and in the IHF app, added three more goals in the second half to take her total to eight, one more than she had previously scored in the entire competition until the second match.

As Egypt failed to score for nine minutes and 57 seconds, the game was over, as Switzerland took advantage of the African side’s mistakes and were absolutely ruthless in attack, having a 80% efficiency in the first 18 minutes of the second half. Eventually, Switzerland sealed a 31:22 win, their third in a row at the 2024 IHF Women’s Junior World Championship.

Switzerland will now start the main round with two points, while Egypt are on zero points, after their first loss in the competition. The two teams head to main round Group I, where they face Netherlands and Romania.

Alkaloid Player of the Match: Nuria Bucher (Switzerland)