Romania have been a perennial contender in the past at the IHF Women’s Junior World Championship, winning the title twice, in 1995 and in 1999 and added three more bronze medals, with some fantastic generations in the past.

However, the past ediitons have been hit-and-miss for Romania, which finished eighth in 2018 and recorded their worst ever finish at Slovenia 2022, when they failed to qualify to the main round after a seven-goal loss against Czechia, when they needed to lose by six at most to progress between the best 16 teams in the competition.

Yet Romania are coming into North Macedonia 2024 full of hope, after securing the bronze medal at the W19 EHF EURO 2023, which they hosted in Pitești and Mioveni. There, Simona Maior-Pașca’s side displayed huge flashes of potential, with a fantastic performance in front of their own court.

Here, Romania will keep their core intact and will rely once again on left back Diana Lixăndroiu, a 18-year-old hugely promising player, who also featured at the 2022 IHF Women’s Youth World Championship and at the 2022 IHF Women’s Junior World Championship.

Lixăndroiu and fellow back Alisia Boiciuc, who had a full season in the strong Romanian League for Corona Brașov, will once again be the fulcrum of the team, with some strong additions like wings Mihaela Mihai and Miriam Mohamed, who have also gained experience in the Romanian league this season.

All in all, this is a team full of potential, which has already proven its worth in the past and has made some great steps forward. While it not be a big contender for the title, there is still the potential of a dark horse outing, which can ring true, especially if Romania come out of Group A, against the Netherlands, Brazil and the Islamic Republic of Iran, unscathed.

Key players: Diana Lixăndroiu (left back), Alisia Boiciuc (centre back), Mihaela Mihai (right wing)
Qualification: W19 EHF EURO 2023: Bronze medal
History in the competition: 1977: Bronze medal, 1985: 7th, 1991: 5th, 1993: 5th, 1995: Winners, 1997: Bronze medal, 1999: Winners, 2001: 5th, 2003: 11th, 2008: 10th, 2012: 13th, 2014: 6th, 2016: Bronze medal, 2018: 8th, 2022: 18th 
Group at North Macedonia 2024: Group A (Romania, Netherlands, Brazil, Islamic Republic of Iran)