People's Republic of China joined Croatia in the President's Cup final after claiming their third straight win in Group II, this time against Cuba. China secured their spot in the President's Cup final, where they will face Croatia on Wednesday. Egypt proved too strong for Kazakhstan and will fight for the 27th position.

President's Cup Group II
Kazakhstan vs Egypt 18:30 (8:13)

On Saturday, World Championship debutants Egypt earned their first point at the tournament, sharing the spoils with Cuba. Now the African side celebrated their maiden win at this level and finished second in the group with three points, ahead of the Cubans on goal difference. On Wednesday, Egypt will finish the tournament with the Placement Match 27/28 against Paraguay, while Kazakhstan will try to finally open their account in the Placement Match 31/32 versus the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Kazakhstan and Egypt were tied at 4:4 eight minutes into the game, but the Africans then used a 3:0 run to pull clear. Their goalkeeper Gihad Sayed was superb between the posts, delivering 14 saves for a 56% saving efficiency throughout the match. She had a special impact in the opening 30 minutes, as her 10 saves lifted the African side to a 13:8 lead.

Kazakhstan had fought hard against Cuba and People's Republic of China, but they struggled against the Egyptians, who started the second half with a 6:0 run before Irina Khassakhanova ended her team's drought in the 41st minute. The match was all but decided, and in the end, 12 Egypt players found their name on the scoresheet, with Lojin Osama having the biggest impact with five goals.

hummel Player of the Match: Gihad Sayed (Egypt)

People's Republic of China vs Cuba 34:30 (17:15)

After a win against Cuba, China finished top of the group with the maximum of six points and will play Croatia in the Placement Match 25/26, which also serves as the President's Cup final. The Cuban team, who ranked third in the group, are set to face Uruguay in the Placement Match 29/30.

The Central Americans had a slight advantage in the opening phase of the match and were the first to create a two-goal gap, 6:4. However, the rivals were still level at 12:12 before a string of saves from the birthday girl Wenqi Yang—she turned 20 today—denied Cuba a single goal during 10 minutes. Following a 4:0 run, China enjoyed a 16:12 cushion before their rivals slashed the gap at the break.

Eight goals from Lorena Tellez and 11 saves from Danielys Herranz kept Cuba in the fight in the opening half, but these two players slowed down for a while after the restart, and China started to extend the gap. A 4:0 run between minutes 38 and 43 handed them a double-digit advantage (28:18), and the game seemed to be almost decided.

Nevertheless, Cuba did not give up, and goals from Tellez and Diancy Gonzalez fueled their impressive 5:0 run, slashing the gap to 27:30. But a timeout helped the Chinese to regroup, and they ultimately celebrated their third consecutive win—even despite Tellez's 14 goals.

hummel Player of the Match: Lorena Tellez (Cuba)