Hungary needed time to settle, but once they found their rhythm there was no looking back. A composed second half carried them to a 26:17 win over Senegal in their Group B opener.

Group B
Hungary vs Senegal 26:17 (10:7)

It was a nervous start from both sides, with neither able to score for almost four minutes. While Senegal struggled with turnovers, Hungary’s main problem was hummel Player of the Match Justicia Toubissa Elbeco, who stopped 75% of their shots and kept her team in it early on. Once things finally opened up, Hungary struck twice in a row, while Senegal waited another two minutes for their first goal.

Senegal could have challenged Hungary even more, but the sheer number of turnovers in the first 20 minutes held them back; seven mistakes were too much to overcome once Hungary moved ahead 6:3.

Still, it was not over. Senegal found a new push and levelled the score at 6:6, but just when it seemed they had found their footing, they faded again and were down by three within minutes. The Hungarians used their rotations to try to build a more significant lead by half-time, but they remained three goals in front.

As the second half commenced, it looked like Senegal would make a comeback when they netted for 10:9 with the help of Hawa N’Diaye, but Zsófi Szemerey responded and helped her side produce an 8:2 run to make it 18:11 with 15 minutes to go.

Senegal, who had a good run at the Croatia Cup before the start of the World Championship, were left reeling, and Hungary started to show more and more of the play on which they built their EHF EURO 2024 bronze medal, powered by the wings – Laura Udvardi on the right scored five, while Gréta Márton on the left netted seven times.

As the final buzzer approached, it was clear Senegal had no strength left, which led to a series of mistakes. They finished with 17 turnovers, and only two players scored more than three goals: Mathita Diawara and Dounia Abdourahim.

Hungary claimed an important win in their quest for the top spot in the group ahead of their next match against the Islamic Republic of Iran. Senegal will attempt to surprise young Switzerland to shake up the standings.

hummel Player of the Match: Justicia Toubissa Elbeco (Senegal)