Kazakhstan earned a long-awaited win, while Uruguay defeated Cuba in the final placement matches of Germany/Netherlands 2025. Kazakhstan finally opened their account after six straight defeats, defeating Cuba in the Placement Match 31/32. Uruguay also ended the tournament on a high, proving too strong for Cuba in the Placement Match 29/30.

Placement Match 31/32
Islamic Republic of Iran vs Kazakhstan 19:24 (9:13)

In an all-Asian duel, Iran's Fatemeh Merikh was the first to score, but Kazakhstan seized the initiative soon after. Making use of their rivals' multiple turnovers, they enjoyed a 7:0 run, without conceding a goal for nearly 11 minutes and taking a commanding 10:2 lead in the 16th minute.

Iran struggled a lot in the opening quarter of the match, but their goalkeeping improved when Zahra Afshari came on as a substitute. Her string of saves helped the team stay in the fight, as they used a 5:1 run to cut the gap to 9:13 before neither team could score in the last five and a half minutes before the interval.

Afshari continued to shine after the break, finishing the game with 13 saves and a 48% save efficiency and receiving the hummel Player of the Match award. However, Kazakhstan's goalkeeping duo was also superb, as Darya Kolesnichenko and Damira Zhaparova combined for 17 saves. In a low-scoring second half, their team kept leading by four to five goals nearly all the time and ultimately earned their maiden win at the tournament.

Kazakhstan made a step back compared to Denmark/Norway/Sweden 2023, where they finished 30th. The same can be said about Iran, who ranked 31st at both their previous World Championships in 2021 and 2023, but now failed to take a single win.

hummel Player of the Match: Zahra Afshari (Islamic Republic of Iran)

Placement Match 29/30
Uruguay vs Cuba 33:27 (17:16)

Uruguay, who returned to the World Championship after a 14-year absence, ended the tournament with two straight wins. After beating the Islamic Republic of Iran on Monday, they also proved too strong for Cuba to secure 29th place. In turn, the Cubans, who played at this level following a six-year break, ranked 30th.

Goals from Paula Eastman and Viviana Ferrari gave Uruguay a slight advantage in the opening phase of the game, and the South American team reached their biggest lead in the first half, 10:7, in the 14th minute. But Cuba hit back with a 3:0 run to equalize, and after 30 minutes, Uruguay were in front by just one goal, 17:16.

After the restart, Cuba drew level again, but then their multiple turnovers helped Uruguay enjoy a 5:0 run to pull clear at 22:17. The South Americans had the game under their control, and although Lorena Tellez stepped up for Cuba in the last quarter of the encounter, her goals could not change anything.

Tellez and Yarumy Cespedes became Cuba's top scorers with seven goals, while hummel Player of the Match Jennifer Toledo added six more. However, Uruguay did better as a team, and their goals were distributed among 11 players, with centre back Eastman having a special impact with seven goals and just as many assists.

hummel Player of the Match: Jennifer Toledo (Cuba)