Norway have made it for the 18th time to the IHF Women’s Junior World Championship and the Scandinavian side have been one of the most consistent teams in history, having never finished outside of the top-10, with the 9th place at France 1983 and Croatia 2014 being their worst results.

Indeed, Norway have secured six medals so far, two gold, two silver and two bronze, with their last two appearances in the competition ending with a finals berth, when Norway secured the silver medal in 2018 and were crowned winners at Slovenia 2022, with an absolutely fantastic performance in terms of consistency and team spirit.

Yet the current generation, which has represented Norway already at the 2022 IHF Women’s Youth World Championship and at the W19 EHF EURO 2023, had some hit and misses, finishing ninth at the world handball flagship competition two years ago and on the 10th place at the W19 EHF EURO 2023.

Nevertheless, Norway are staying on the course and this time around, Kristine Lunde Borgersen, the former star centre back of the Scandinavian team, will lead the side at the 2024 IHF Women’s Junior World Championship, the same role she had with the current generation in 2022 and 2023.

There are plenty of experienced players in the squad, like Constance Hedenstad or Kadija Mardalen, who have been already featuring in the domestic league, which means that they have plenty of experience.

Without a true star emerging in this squad, Norway will rely once again on strong defence and pacy fast breaks, but they will need an improvement from the previous competitions they took part in if they are to extend their top-10 streak to 18 editions.

Key players: Constance Hedenstad (right back), Bertine Emilie Lunde (left wing), Kadija Mardalen (goalkeeper)

Qualification: W19 EHF EURO 2023: 10th

History in the competition: 1977: 7th, 1979: 7th, 1983: 9th, 1985: 5th, 1987: 8th, 1995: Bronze medal, 1997: 4th, 1999: 7th, 2001: 6th, 2003: Bronze medal, 2005: Silver medal, 2010: Winners, 2012: 8th, 2014: 9th, 2016: 5th, 2018: Silver medal, 2022: Winners

Group at North Macedonia 2024: Group D (Denmark, Norway, Japan, Chinese Taipei)