A topsy-turvy match, which saw Czechia down by seven, but bounce back, helped the European side to seal their maiden top-10 berth at the IHF Women’s Youth World Championship, after taking a 25:24 win against Brazil.

Sweden also delivered a 33:27 win against the People’s Republic of China, which once again mounted a hefty challenge, while both Iceland and Angola secured wins and enhanced their chances for a better finish at the end of the competition.

PLACEMENT MATCHES 9-12

• Brazil vs Czechia 24:25 (16:13)

PLACEMENT MATCHES 13-16

• Sweden vs People’s Republic of China 33:27 (17:11)

PLACEMENT MATCHES 25-28

• India vs Iceland 15:33 (4:17)
• Angola vs Kazakhstan 22:20 (11:7)

What happened: Facing their fourth European opponent and the third Scandinavian opponent in the last week, the People’s Republic of China provided once again a good challenge against Sweden, which were obviously disappointed after missing out on a quarter-finals berth, with underpar performances in the main round. This time around, knowing full well that China can deliver a challenge, Sweden took control early of the match and went back to their winning ways, ending a three-match winless streak at China 2024. Goalkeeper Wilma Saul (13 saves for 45% saving efficiency after 37 minutes) was decisive in Sweden’s good start, as the Scandinavian side had all their players chime in on the scoreboard and eventually deliver a 33:27 win, their third of the competition in six matches.

When Brazil put together two unanswered runs, 5:0 and 4:0, to create a seven-goal lead in the 33rd minute of the match against Czechia, 20:13, it looked like it was game over and the South American team was going to seal a top-10 finish at China 2024. But from that moment on, it was all Czechia. For 14 minutes and 38 seconds, Brazil failed to score a goal. Czechia’s Claudia Rampová scored six of her 11 goals in an otherworldly 10:0 unanswered run for the European side, who turned the match on its head and enabled Czechia to take a 23:20 lead, which they kept until the end. That ensured that the European side sealed a 25:24 win, as they secured their maiden top-10 placement at the IHF Women’s Youth World Championship. On the other hand, Brazil were left emptyhanded 

Two years after finishing eighth at North Macedonia 2022, Iceland finally found their way and ensured they feature in the Placement Match 25/26, after biggest win here and the second largest in history at the IHF Women’s Youth World Championship. At the break, the European side had a 13-goal lead, limiting their opponents, India, to only four goals scored. As the Asian side turned the ball over 36 times in the match, there was nothing they could do to weather the storm, albeit they scored the same number of goals like in the first half, four, in 12 minutes in the second part of the match. Eventually, Iceland jumped to a 33:15 win, a dominating performance for a team which needed a boost of confidence.

In the last Placement Match on Thursday, Angola staved off Kazakhstan’s challenge and took their second win of the competition, albeit with an uninspiring display. Their top scorer, Constantina Domingos, who had previously scored 33 times, failed to convert any of the five shots she had before half-time and put only three past Kazakhstan in the second half. But Angola stood their ground and delivered Kazakhstan yet another loss, 22:20, making it to the Placement Match 25/26.

Stat of the day: 12 - Claudia Rampová had her best outing at China 2024, scoring 12 times, as she jumped to the third place in the top goal scorer standings, with 37 goals, two less than the top goal scorer, Chinese Taipei’s Ching Lin.

What’s next: Czechia are due to face Norway in the Placement Match 9/10, Brazil will face Montenegro in the Placement Match 11/12, while the Placement Match 25/26 will see Angola take on Iceland, while the Placement Match 27/28 is due to pit two Asian sides – India and Kazakhstan.