Denmark seal back-to-back appearances in the final of the IHF Women's Youth World Championship with win against France

23 Aug. 2024

Denmark seal back-to-back appearances in the final of the IHF Women's Youth World Championship with win against France

Two months after securing the title at the 2024 IHF Women’s Junior World Championship, France had the chance to make the double at the 2024 IHF Women’s Youth World Championship. Up by four goals with 25 minutes to go in the semi-final against Denmark, France could not hold their lead and Denmark qualified for the fifth time in the final, after a hard-fought 21:20 win.

SEMI-FINAL
Denmark vs France 21:20 (7:11)

2024 has been a busy year for women’s handball in France, with the senior team securing the silver medal at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and the junior team clinching the title at the 2024 IHF Women’s Junior World Championship in North Macedonia nearly two months ago.

But France, which were on the verge to deliver another finals berth at China 2024, saw Denmark mount a fantastic comeback in the last 10 minutes of the first semi-final of the competition, leaving France emptyhanded and qualifying for their fifth final in history.

The Scandinavian team, the most decorated in the history of the competition, with six medals won in the first nine editions, looked like a strong opponent, but scored only eight goals in the first 35 minutes of the match, facing a stiff competition from their opponents, which had previously conceded only 19.5 goals per match in their previous six appearances, the fourth lowest number at China 2024.

France ensured that the tempo of the match was slowed down and Denmark rarely had clear opportunities for delivering good shots, as they were limited to a meagre 32% shooting efficiency after 37 minutes, when France were up by five goals, 14:9, when goalkeeper LĂ©ane Gonzalez had a 50% saving efficiency, same as the second France shot stopper, Lisa Joyet Bondu.

By that time, it was clear that Denmark had to up their tempo and get some defensive stops, and this is exactly what the Scandinavian side did. With a 9:3 run, powered by back Anne Plougstrup, who scored seven times, Denmark turned the match on its head and took the lead for the first time, 18:17, with 12 minutes to go.

France were in disarray, failing to get anything from their attack, just like in the previous match, the quarter-final against Germany, where they led by five goals, but were up by a single goal in the last minutes.

It was about the missed shots – their attacking efficiency dropped from 65% in the first half to 48% at the end of the match – but also about the sheer number of turnovers, with France failing to repeat the good performance from the first half.

Therefore, Denmark took the lead and never looked back, yet France were still in with a shot, in the dying seconds, but their last attack, which had 20 seconds, failed to materialise in a goal and Denmark celebrated wildly their second consecutive appearance in the final of the IHF Women’s Youth World Championship, after a 21:20 win.