Two teams with a perfect record at the 2023 IHF Women’s World Championship will aim to leave Norway on Tuesday night with that record intact as the co-host country bids goodbye to the event after its 10th day of match action split between Stavanger and now Trondheim.

First up on the final day of action at the Trondheim Spektrum are the Olympic champions France, taking on Czechia. France, like Netherlands in the second quarter-final, have won all six of their games so far, but unlike the Dutch, who travelled from Denmark, have had the luxury of being settled in Trondheim for the past week.

Following that clash, European champions Norway will take on Netherlands in a repeat of the 2015 IHF Women’s World Championship final, won by the Norwegians.

With extra time and penalty shots possible, both games promise to provide some mouthwatering action and a showcase for some of the world’s greatest handball stars.

17:30 CET France vs Czechia

Described as a “fairy tale” by their player Veronika Mala, Czechia’s progress at the 2023 IHF Women’s World Championship now sees them in the last eight, equalling their best-ever ranking as an independent nation when they finished eighth at Germany 2017.

Despite losing against Brazil in their final main round group game, Czechia squeezed through to the last eight thanks to their victory over Spain, with those three teams going into a ‘mini group’ with results and goal difference taken into account.

Czechia’s 30:22 dominant win over Spain ranks as the highlight of their 2023 IHF Women’s World Championship experience to date and with their ranking so far they have cemented their place in the Paris 2024 Olympic Qualification Tournaments for next April.

But Bent Dahl’s squad will want more and will be looking forward to testing themselves against the current Olympic champions and next year’s Olympic Games hosts.

Head-to-head recent history is favourable for Czechia, despite Olivier Krumbholz’s France being overriding favourites in the game in Trondheim. Back in April 2022, Czechia beat the French 31:30 in their European qualification clash.

“It is important to keep your feet on the ground, but I am very happy for what we have achieved,” said Dahl to handball.cz ahead of the match. “We always have a chance to win.”

That chance comes courtesy of EHF Champions League winner and the MVP of the EHF FINAL4 in Budapest two seasons ago, Marketa Jerabkova. Any team with the championship current top scorer is doing something right and with her 46 goals so far, Czechia have someone who is leading from the front. 

She is ably-assisted by goalkeeper Petra Kudlackova down the other end and she could be the busier of the two players against a free-flowing France, who finally showed what they were capable of, defeating the previously unbeaten Norway (24:23) last time out.

France coach Krumbholz had said his team were improving game-by-game and they gave their best performance so far in their first major test – against Norway.

“We found what is our DNA: a strong defence, capable of thwarting the opponent,” said France goalkeeper Laura Glauser to ffhandball.fr about the victory. “I had the impression that we were conceding a lot of goals since the start of the competition, but, against Norway, we returned to what we do best: not conceding.”

France captain Estelle Nze Minko has been a joy to watch so far, effortlessly leading her team through the campaign, but urged caution ahead of their first knock-out game.

“We must not fall into the opposite trap of thinking we have arrived,” she said to ffhandball.fr. “We are going to work hard. We know that they beat us not long ago, so we are warned of the danger.”

20:30 CET Norway vs Netherlands

“Losing is never fun,” said Norway’s goalkeeper Katrine Lunde to the Norwegian media following her sides’ 24:23 defeat against France in their main round, group II title decider on Sunday night.

Norway’s 23 goals were the lowest competitive amount they had scored since the 2020 European Championship final with a streak of 30 Olympic Games, World and European championship matches in a row which have seen them score more.

“We must take the good with us. We'll push ourselves well, but we'll have to correct some things, then we'll be ready to beat the Netherlands,” concluded the 43-year-old shotstopper.

“I feel a bit like we are at 80 per cent,” added Norway’s coach Thorir Hergeirsson. “We know Netherlands are one of the top teams in Europe, but if you want to go all the way, you have to beat the good teams.”

Hergeirsson and his players revealed they conducted a post-match debrief at their hotel following the France result with Stine Oftedal admitted the players “vented” before going to bed, but denied there was “…any crisis atmosphere at all”.

In the Netherlands’ camp there is zero talk about any crisis, with the team relishing the chance to take on Norway on their home court, having won all six of their games in Frederikshavn, Denmark before making the 900km journey north on Tuesday.

“We have a great team and a good feeling in the team and I think that’s really important,” said Netherlands goalkeeper Yara Ten Holte to ihf.info on the eve of their clash.

“We knew a big match was coming up – either Norway or France – it’s now Norway in Norway and it's going to be a really nice match.

“It’s a benefit for me because you know how they are going to play,” added the 24-year-old about facing Odense club teammates Maren Aardahl and Thale Rushfeldt Deila who are part of the Norwegian team. “But Norway are a team with a lot of qualities. Everybody needs to be 100%. We need everyone to focus on everyone.”

The two teams last met at an IHF Women’s World Championship back at Spain 2021 with Norway taking a 37:34 main round victory on their way to championship gold.