Two teams progressing to the main round from Group C have already been determined. Just like Germany a few hours earlier, Serbia took their second win at the tournament, this time against fellow European side Iceland. The Icelanders fought until the end but suffered their second straight defeat, and on Sunday they will need at least a draw against Uruguay to go through.

GROUP C
Serbia vs Iceland 27:26 (19:13)

The opening minutes of the match featured a close fight, reflected in a 5:5 score after seven minutes. But gradually the Serbs started to gain the upper hand, led by their most experienced players, Katarina Krpež Šlezak and Dragana Cvijić. In the 11th minute, they created a two-goal advantage for the first time in the match, 7:5.

Iceland showed some resilience, drawing level at 8:8, but Serbia gained the momentum again and enjoyed a 3:0 run to pull clear. With an impressive 83% shooting efficiency and five goals from Krpež Šlezak in the opening half, the Balkan side continued to extend the gap, comfortably leading by six goals at the interval.

After the restart, Serbia picked up where they had left off, denying Iceland’s attempts to mount a comeback. While Jovana Risović did not shine early in the game, the Balkan team’s goalkeeping improved when Gordana Petković stepped in. Her saves helped the Serbs keep the game under control, as they still led by six goals, 25:19, in the 47th minute.

But as it turned out, the game was far from settled. Iceland’s goalkeeper Hafdís Renötudóttir also started to make one save after another, and her impact helped the team to a strong 5:0 run. Serbia failed to score for nearly 10 minutes, and their rivals closed the gap to just one goal, 25:24, with six minutes to go.

Jovana Skrobić, who became Serbia’s joint top scorer alongside Krpež Šlezak with seven goals, ended her team’s drought, but hummel Player of the Match Renötudóttir – who finished the game with 11 saves and a 34% save rate – kept her team in the fight until the last minute. With 54 seconds to play, Katrín Jensdóttir closed the gap to one goal again, 26:27, and while Serbia then turned the ball over, Iceland were unable to draw level in their last attack, as Risović, who had returned in goal a few minutes earlier, finally showed her quality and made a crucial save.

hummel Player of the Match: Hafdís Renötudóttir (Iceland)