With the quarter-finals on the line, the Netherlands set the tone from the first whistle, punishing every Polish mistake and dictating the tempo on their way to a clear 33:22 win.

Main Round, Group III
Poland vs Netherlands 22:33 (11:18)

The Netherlands stepped into the clash knowing a win would seal their quarter-final ticket, and they played like it. They opened with a clean 2:0 and imposed their rhythm from the very first minute. Poland struggled to keep pace, scoring their first goal only in the fifth minute before collapsing into a string of turnovers that hampered any chance of keeping the game tight and keeping their own top-eight hopes alive.

The co-hosts wasted no time punishing every slip and quickly stormed to a 5:1 lead, forcing an early Polish time-out. While the Netherlands thrived on fast breaks and efficient transition, powered by an outstanding Bo van Wetering, Poland relied heavily on more structured, slower positional play.

The contrast was clear in attack duration: 29 seconds for the Dutch, 43 for Poland. A switch to a 5-1 defence did not change much for Poland either, as nothing seemed capable of slowing the co-hosts, who were once again lifted by a passionate home crowd.

Four minutes before the break, Zoë Sprengers pushed the Netherlands to a 15:9 lead. Poland did show improvement compared to their shaky opening, but not nearly enough to close the gap. And just before half-time, Yara ten Holte made her sixth save of the day and immediately followed it with a brilliant full-court pass to Nikita van der Vliet, who set the 18:11 score at the buzzer.

The first ten minutes of the second half were downright strange. The Netherlands opened with two quick goals to make it 20:11, and then everything stalled. For ten full minutes, the co-hosts could not find the net, a rare freeze for the Dutch.

But Poland did not take advantage. They fell into the same trap, needing nine minutes to finally score and wasting a golden opportunity to cut the deficit to something more manageable. Instead of mounting a comeback, both sides got stuck in a poor spell that suited the Netherlands just fine.

Once the Dutch restarted, they never looked back. When the match entered its closing ten minutes, Kelly Vollebregt struck for the first double-digit lead (26:16). Poland tried to soften the defeat by adding an extra attacking player and pushing harder at the Dutch defence, but the home crowd lifted the co-hosts again as they shut the door and closed out a commanding 33:22 win, with 13 outfield players scoring at least once.

Before the knockout phase begins and the road to medals starts, the Netherlands still have one more match in the main round — a battle for first place in the group against France, who also secured a quarter-final berth earlier today. Poland will look to finish their World Championship run on a positive note against Austria.

hummel Player of the Match: Yara ten Holte (Netherlands)