The Trier Arena will host the IHF Women’s World Championship for the second time in history and the competition will return in the city situated on the banks of the Mosel river after eight years.

This time around, Trier will host Groups D and H, with the former one seeing three European teams – Montenegro, Spain and the Faroe Islands – plus one South American side, Paraguay, vying for the three main round spots available.

While Montenegro and Spain are battle tested and often been in the closing stages of the IHF Women’s World Championship, with Spain making the semi-finals in 2009, 2011, 2019 and 2021, the Faroe Islands are debutants and Paraguay have never made it out of the preliminary round in their previous three appearances.

So far, Montenegro and Spain have met nine times in major international competitions, with the two sides playing in two semi-finals, first at the London 2012 Olympic Games, when Montenegro ensured their maiden medal in the nation’s history, with a 27:26 win, then at the EHF EURO 2024, when Spain avenged that loss and made it into the final with a 19:18 win>

Traditionally, the matches between the two sides have been close, with the largest win for any of the two teams being a seven-goal win for Montenegro, 30:23, at the EHF EURO 2022, in the preliminary round.

The head-to-head record is as close to a deadlock as it can be, with Montenegro winning four matches, Spain winning four times and one match ending in a stalemate, 26:26, in the main round at the EHF EURO 2020.

In the nine mutual matches, Montenegro scored 214 goals, while Spain scored 212 goals in those clashes, with their third battle at the IHF Women’s World Championship being set to tilt the balance, at least for one year.

So far, the two sides have met twice at the IHF Women’s World Championship, with Spain taking a 23:19 win in the Round of 16 at Brazil 2011, eliminating Montenegro prematurely in their maiden appearance at the world handball flagship competition, while the second clash, which took place at Japan 2019, in the preliminary round, saw Spain take a 27:26 win.

However, the last match played between Montenegro and Spain saw Montenegro take a 30:23 win, at the EHF EURO 2022, in Podgorica, in the preliminary round. This edition of the world handball flagship competition will also see Montenegro’s coach, Suzana Lazovic, make her debut in her current position at a senior event, after she led the People’s Republic of China junior team last year at the 2024 IHF Women’s Junior World Championship.

Montenegro also have a positive head-to-head record over Paraguay, winning 30:25 at the Paris 2024 Olympic Qualification Tournament in the spring of 2024, and 41:26 at the 2023 IHF Women’s World Championship, and also beat the Faroe Islands, 32:26, on 18 October, in the EHF EURO 2026 Qualifiers.

However, both Spain and Montenegro have been trying to change their squads over the last years. After Montenegro secured the bronze at the EHF EURO 2022, they also made the quarter-finals at the 2023 IHF Women’s World Championship, yet missed the cut for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Spain were at Paris 2024, but did not win any of the five matches played and also did not make the cut for the main round at the EHF EURO 2024, undergoing a massive rebuild on Ambros Martin’s watch.

One of the most decorated and experienced coaches in women’s handball, Martin is at his third experience as a national team coach, after being in the same position in Romania and Russia, but he has his work cut out, especially with a clear objective in four years’ time, when Spain host the IHF Women’s World Championship.

Spain have also won both matches against Paraguay played in the world handball flagship competition, 29:9 at Serbia 2013 and 32:15 at Germany 2017, both in the preliminary round, but did not face the Faroe Islands so far in official matches. 

The Faroe Islands will make their debut at the IHF Women’s World Championship, after finishing 17th in their debut EHF EURO edition. The Nordic side made it through to Germany/Netherlands 2025 with a 65:56 win on aggregate against Lithuania in the Qualification Europe – Phase 2, and will try to make a statement here by securing a place in the main round.

They will be underdogs against the European sides, but will be favoured against Paraguay, despite the South American side having more experience in the competition.

Paraguay have made it to the IHF Women’s World Championship for the sixth time in history, having won nine of the 34 matches played. However, they failed to make the main round until this point and their best finish is the 21st place in 2013 and 2017.