Germany secured the ninth place in the final standings at the 2024 IHF Women's Junior World Championship with a 28:18 win over Norway, thanks to a fine defensive performance. 

Elsewhere in the Placement Matches, Romania delivered their most competitive performance yet, with a 42:28 win against Montenegro, Egypt clinched the 13th place with a win over the Republic of Korea, as the People's Republic of China ended a great tournament on a high, on the 15th place, thanks to a win against hosts North Macedonia
 

PLACEMENT MATCH 9/10
Germany vs Norway 28:18 (13:9)

Germany, one of the teams with the toughest schedule at the 2024 IHF Women’s Junior World Championship, which have faced six European sides on the way, finished on the ninth place in the competition, with a fantastic display, probably their best all-rounded one, delivering a big win against Norway in the Placement Match 9/10. 

Norway were just coming off a big win against Montenegro, but their attack was cut off from goals after scoring 42 in the previous match on Thursday, as they mustered only 18 in this match, nine in each half, with Germany’s defence running a tight ship throughout the 60 minutes played in the Jane Sandanski Sports Centre.

Germany started better and never let Norway take the lead or even tie the score, with a fascinating display from goalkeeper Marie Kristin Weiss, who saved 17 shots for a 52% saving efficiency, confirming her status as one of the top goalkeepers in this competition. Named the Alkaloid Player of the Match for the third time at North Macedonia 2024, Weiss has 84 saves, the largest number so far in the competition.

In attack, Germany did not impress, boasting a 54% shooting efficiency, but they still managed to open up a four-goal lead at the break, 13:9, which went even better in the start of the second half, when a 6:1 run for Germany basically decided the winner, as the gap hit double digits.

With their 28:18 win, Germany finished ninth in the final standings, while for Norway, this is the 18th time finishing in the top-10 at the IHF Women’s Junior World Championship, but still their worst-ever result, previously the ninth place in 1983 and 2014.

Alkaloid Player of the Match: Marie Kristin Weiss (Germany)

PLACEMENT MATCH 11/12
Romania vs Montenegro 42:28 (20:12)

Every single outfield player scored for Romania in their most consistent performance at the 2024 IHF Women’s Junior World Championship. However, the bad news for Romania is that they could only muster the 11th place in the final standings of the competition with their 42:28 win against Montenegro.

Romania started strong and never relinquished the lead, as their top scorers in the competition, backs Alisia Boiciuc and Diana Lixăndroiu combined for 11 goals between them, as back Anamaria Grigore chimed in with another six goals, to propel Romania to a clear win.

The only time Montenegro managed to hope for something was in the start of the second half, when they cut the gap to only four goals, but after a well-taken team time-out from Romania, everything changed, as Romania took the momentum back and unlocked a fiery potential unseen so far in attack.

The seven-on-six and 4-2 defensive tactics did not work for Montenegro, which was at the receiving end of a 6:0 unanswered run for Romania and another 5:0 unanswered run from their opponents, as Simona Maior-Pașca’s side delivered a 42:28 win.

Montenegro, which finished 12th, will likely deliver the top goal scorer of the competition, right back Jelena Vukčević, who scored six times and improved her overall tally to 74 goals, 14 more than any other player so far.

Alkaloid Player of the Match: Alisia Boiciuc (Romania)

PLACEMENT MATCH 13-14
Egypt vs Republic of Korea 29:23 (12:11)

Before the match, Egypt had already secured their best-ever finish at the IHF Women's Junior World Championship, and the African side ended the tournament on a high, beating the Republic of Korea and taking the 13th position.

The Asian side, which had won the 2022 IHF Women's Youth World Championship with the same generation, in a competition also hosted in North Macedonia, now finished only 14th, as they lost three of their seven matches in the competition.

On Thursday, the Republic of Korea had beaten home side North Macedonia in style, 34:19, but they failed to show the same quality on the following day. The Asians were unable to hold back Egypt's top scorer Mariam Omar Ibrahim, who scored 11 goals from 12 attempts.

The Republic of Korea's goalkeeping in this match left much to be desired, as their three goalkeepers combined for just three saves. In turn, their Egyptian colleague Gihad Wael Sayed had a 30% save rate, contributing to her team's success,

Before the break, the Asians fought hard and led by three goals (6:3) at some point, and Egypt were in front by only one goal at the interval.  The teams were still tied midway through the second half, 17:17, but in the last quarter of the game, Egypt had more energy left and clinched a win, 29:23. 

Alkaloid Player of the Match: Hyewon Lee, Republic of Korea

PLACEMENT MATCH 15-16
People's Republic of China vs North Macedonia 25:23 (11:12)

Thanks to a strong second-half performance, People's Republic of China won their last match at North Macedonia 2024 against the home side. So the Asian team finished 15th in the tournament, which is their best result at the IHF Women's Junior World Championship since 2005. 

For the Chinese, reaching the main round was already quite a big success, and although they lost three consecutive matches after that, a win against the hosts helped to bow out in style. Andfor North Macedonia, the 16th place is the second-best result at this level after they ranked eighth in 2003, also at home.

North Macedonia's Emilijana Rizoska became the top scorer of the Placement Match 15/16, netting 11 times from 12 attempts. The left wing had a special impact before the break, as her seven goals powered the European team to a one-goal lead, 12:11, after the opening 30 minutes. 

But the People's Republic of China managed to turn the tide in the second half thanks to a good team performance. Goalkeeper Luyao Li had a 35% save rate, and right wing Hongyan Zhuang became the best scorer of the Asians with six goals.
For a long time, the Chinese led by just one or two goals, so North Macedonia hoped for a comeback. But two minutes from full-time, the Asian side extended the gap to four goals, 24:20, which removed all questions about the outcome. 

Alkaloid Player of the Match: Emilijana Rizoska, North Macedonia