After beating the reigning champions Norway, 33:25, Denmark finished top of Group D at the 2024 IHF Women's Junior World Championship, with three wins in as many games and will start the main round with two points. 

GROUP D
Denmark vs Norway 33:25 (22:12)

Denmark enjoyed a perfect start of the match, stunning Norway with their free-flowing attack and opening up a 7:1 lead already five minutes into the game. They succeeded to dominate both in defence and attack, and their rivals looked dejected after such an unexpected start.

Norway's goalkeeper Kadija Mardalen, who had done so well in the previous matches at North Macedonia 2024, could not make any impact and was replaced by Dina Frisendal. However, it did not change a lot for the reigning champions, which had a vulnerable defence.

Left wing Matilde Vestergaard scored seven goals for Denmark in the first half, supported by back court players Clara Bang, Laura Testrup and Nanna Vinther, and their team did not slow down. After 15 minutes, they led 13:6 and later on boasted a 5:0 run between minutes 23 and 29, which led to a double-digit gap by the break. 

Norway started the second half with two consecutive goals, but although their goalkeeper Frisendal improved and ended the match with 12 saves (33% saving rate), they did not have a chance to make a comeback. Centre back Marije Mjos became the Norwegian top scorer with six goals, and although 11 her teammates also netted at least once, it was Denmark who were clearly superior. 

Left wing Vestergaard added two goals to her tally to become the top scorer of the game with nine goals, and Testrup, who was named Alkaloid Player of the Match, added five assists to her five goals. The pacy left wing has now 25 goals under her name, being the second best scorer of the competition so far, five less than Montenegro's Jelena Vukčević. 

In the end, Norway avoided a double-digits loss, 25:33, but this has been a wake-up call, as they start the main round with zero points, while Denmark are well on their way to confirm the potential of this excellent generation, which has secured silver medals at the W19 EHF EURO 2023 and one year later, at the 2022 IHF Women's Youth World Championship.

Alkaloid Player of the Match: Laura Thestrup (Denmark)