One of the biggest favourites to win gold at Spain 2021 will throw off their campaign today in Castelló, as Norway face Kazakhstan. In the other match of Group C, Romania face the Islamic Republic of Iran, who will make their debut at the IHF Women’s World Championship.

Romania vs Islamic Republic of Iran 18:00 CET

The only team to make their debut at the IHF Women’s World Championship, Iran, are ready to take the court in Castelló on Friday, as they meet a former world champion, Romania.

The task at hand will be difficult for the Iranian side, as they have never met a European side in a competitive match before, with their first contact with the world handball flagship competition being with a top-tier team.

Yet Romania are far away from being the perennial contenders for a medal from the past two decades, when they won the silver at Russia 2005 and the bronze at Denmark 2015, while also finishing fourth at France 2007.

The list of absences mounted in 2021, with star left back Cristina Neagu taking a sabbatical year from the national team due to recurrent shoulder pain. Centre back Eliza Buceschi is also out due to an injury, while goalkeeper Denisa Dedu is pregnant. That’s three crucial players out, with coach Adrian Vasile, who will make his debut in an international tournament, overlooking major changes to the squad.

“We are a new team and we have to properly evaluate the status of our side, because we cannot expect the same results from before, when we did have a system that worked. This is a team ready for battle and we will fight for every point available,” said Vasile before travelling to Spain.

However, in their debut match, the Romanian side will be heavily favoured, as Iran will have a reality check after qualifying to Spain 2021 after finishing fourth in September at the AHF Asian Women’s Handball Championship.

None of the Iranian players have the kind of experience needed for this type of challenge, as all of them are domestically based, which will definitely be hampering their chances going forward.

“I am so excited about the group. I am so happy and have a lot of hope for the championship in Spain, I know it will be a great experience for my teammates and me. Everything is good and we will try to show a good performance in Spain,” said Iran’s top scorer at the AHF Asian Women’s Handball Championship, Shaghayegh Bapiri, for ihf.info.

Norway vs Kazakhstan 20:30 CET

The reigning European champions, Norway, have not won the gold medal at the IHF Women’s World Championship since 2015, placing second at Germany 2017 and fourth at Japan 2019.

In fact, Norway have not finished lower than fifth in the tournament since Russia 2005, always striving to clinch a medal and being one of the biggest favourites. 

While finishing third at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 this summer, Norway only dropped one game, in the semi-finals, against the ROC, therefore this generation is still ready to fight and should be considered one, if not the biggest favourite before the throw off at Spain 2021.

Norway’s experience is one of their biggest advantages in this competition, as goalkeeper Katrine Lunde will be playing her seventh IHF Women’s World Championship, being the second most experienced player of the competition, aged 41, while left wing Camilla Herrem, selected in the All-star Team of the competition twice, is also here for her seventh edition in a row, after making her debut in 2009.

With two games against Kazakhstan and Iran to start the 25th IHF Women’s World Championship, Norway are looking for a perfect start, fine tuning any missteps before the scheduled toughens up, with games against Romania and potential matches against the reigning champions, the Netherlands and Sweden in the main round.

“The aim is to be together as one big unit and do what Norway are best at, playing good defence. We will work to be even tougher in defence, so that we can win balls and get the simple goals on the fast breaks. I think World Championships are won with a good defence,” said Norway’s left back Veronica Kristiansen for handball.no.

In the only two mutual games between the sides, Norway have clear wins, 40:19 at Denmark 2015 and 35:19 at the Olympic Games Beijing 2008, with another big win on the cards in Castelló, when the two teams throw off their Spain 2021 campaigns.