Rankings 17 to 24 at the 23rd IHF Women’s World Championship were finalised after four matches on day two of the President’s Cup in Magdeburg and Leipzig. In Arena Leipzig, Poland claimed 17th after a close contest against Brazil, while African champions Angola defeated their continental rivals Cameroon and took 19th place.

President’s Cup final (Placement match 17/18): Poland vs Brazil 29:27 (15:13)

Poland claimed the President’s Cup after winning a close contest against Brazil, which they controlled thanks to strong 6-0 defence and a good game from goalkeeper Adrianna Placzek. The 2015 semi-finalists took the lead immediately, while Brazil’s attack worked hard to find its rhythm against the solid defence. After Poland created a four-goal lead midway through the half, Brazil did well to fight back to a two-goal deficit at half-time – but they could never close the gap completely.

The Pan American champions chased their opponents all the way through the second half, with coach Jorge Duenas trying 5-1 defence in the last minutes after his team fell behind by a clear seven goals (27:20, 49th minute). The change pushed Brazil to record a 5:0 run from the 49th to 55th minute, but when Poland finally broke their drought they reclaimed control and held it until the final whistle.

"We're proud because we achieved two goals: one, we played very well in our group and two, we won the President's Cup,” said Poland’s Kinga Achruk. “We started well into this tournament, but we didn't get any better, so we take this is as a very good lesson for our team for the future.”

“We're very disappointed and we have to learn to be more disciplined. After the draw against Montenegro our motivation was almost gone,” said Brazil goalkeeper Mayssa Pessoa. 

Player of the Match presented by adidas: Karolina KUDLACZ-GLOC (POL)

Placement match 19/20: Angola vs Cameroon 33:23 (16:12)

Just as they did at the continental championship in 2016, African title holders Angola claimed a decisive victory against Cameroon as they opened day two of the President’s Cup in Arena Leipzig. Cameroon held a narrow edge through the opening, but once Angola took the lead in the seventh minute, they did not relinquish it. Their opponents kept the score line to one goal until the last 10 minutes of the first half, when Angola recorded a 5:2 run that pulled them in front by four at the break.  

Angola completely dominated the second period, racing ahead to a 10-goal difference by the 44th minute, at which point the outcome was decided. At the whistle, Angola confirmed a final ranking of 19th, while Cameroon finished 20th – an improved result from the 22nd place on their maiden campaign in 2005.

“We're here to learn. Today my team was tired at the end of the tournament,” said Cameroon assistant coach Serge Claude Magala. “We have to work on our concentration during the match.”

Player of the Match presented by adidas: Juliana Jose MACHADO (ANG) 

21/22 Placement Match: Paraguay vs China 23:21 (14:10)

China coach Jesper Holmris was critical of his ability to address his sides’ apparent lack of motivation in their final Germany 2017 game as Paraguay made it a Pan-American double in Magdeburg in the final day of the President’s Cup/21-24 Placement Match.

A dominant first half from Paraguay saw them four in front at the break (14:10) as China missed all three of their 7m shots and their opponents ended with a 67% save ratio.

The Asian side did ‘win’ the second half (11:9) but their 5:0 run from the 52nd minute until the end was not enough and too late as Paraguay remained unbeaten at the GETEC-Arena.

“We are very happy about this win especially about what we have achieved with such a young team of players,” said Sabrina Conce Fiore Canata Morinigo, who scored five goals for Paraguay. “We have a lot to take back to Paraguay and many things we want to improve on.”

“We are proud of the girls and the hard work they put into this tournament,” said Omar Alonso Delegate, Paraguayan Handball Federation. “During the preliminary round we couldn’t get a win, but we were rewarded with one today.”

“We are very disappointed with the result of this game,” said Holmris. “The right attitude and spirit was missing, and I can only blame myself for it. In this game we missed five penalties, which is the same story throughout the whole tournament for us.”

His player, Sun Mengying, was more direct with her assessment. “It was a terrible game from our side and we’re very sorry,” she said. “We need to work on our faults and get better for the next tournament.”

Player of the Match presented by adidas: Maria Paula FERNANDEZ ESTIGARRIBIA (PAR)

23/24 Placement Match: Argentina vs Tunisia 29:19 (15:10)

Eduardo Peruchena’s South American side finally won their first game of Germany 2017, beating a depleted Tunisia side whose list of injured players was described by their technical director as the “worst-ever” at this level.

An early lead after five minutes (2:0) from the north Africans was the only time they led in the whole 60 minutes as Argentina went ahead in the eighth minute (3:2) and never looked back.  A player of the match performance from Luciana Salvado (eight goals) meant that Argentina could return home without being placed last, an ‘honour’ that went to Tunisia.

“Today we finally played the handball we wanted to play for the whole tournament,” said Peruchena after the match. “We will take home a lot to analyse and therefore, a lot we can improve on.”

“I agree with my coach,” said Salvado. “We are very happy with this victory and I am happy to have received the award, however, it was the teamwork which meant we finally won a game. We are happy about the level we played at today with a very good defence and this is more important than the reward I received.”

The Technical Director for Tunisia, standing in for coach Issam Lahiani, Yessine Arfa bemoaned the amount of injuries his squad faced. “Throughout the tournament we lost too many players to injuries,” he said. “This had a huge impact on our psychological balance and the way we are used to play but during the competition we learnt a lot and it was a good experience for us. 

“In handball you only get what you deserve, but now we know what needs to be done.”

Centre back Senda Farah Chekir, who injured her ligaments earlier at Germany 2017, came to the press conference to speak for her team, and knows more than anybody how the small number of players available affected her side. “We have many injured players,” she said. “Mouna Chebbah is our leader and she is injured too. 

“This is a situation you cannot prepare for, but we are hoping to be better at Japan 2019 in the next World Championship.”

Player of the Match presented by adidas: Luciana Yael SALVADO (ARG)