Germany finished on the fifth place at the 2024 IHF Women’s Youth World Championship, with a 28:23 win over Serbia, while Croatia ended seventh, disposing of Japan, with a 30:29 win after penalties, in the first two matches of the last day at China 2024.

PLACEMENT MATCH 5/6

• Germany vs Serbia 28:23 (15:10)

PLACEMENT MATCH 7/8

• Croatia vs Japan 30:29 a.p. (12:14; 26:26)

What happened: A strong start was enough for Germany to keep Serbia at bay, with the European side ending up on the fifth position at the 2024 IHF Women’s Youth World Championship, their best finish since 2018, when they also ended up on the fifth place in the competition. Germany took an early 11:7 lead, with left wing Chiara Rohr and left back Kim Ott combining for 10 goals in the first half, which saw Germany create a 15:10 lead.

Until the 36th minute, Germany built their gap on a strong defence, with goalkeeper Lena Marie Lindemann boasting a 50% saving efficiency and 12 saves, as the lead ballooned to seven goals, 19:12, with Serbia turning the ball over time and time again in crucial moments. Not even a team time-out could help Serbia mount a comeback, as Germany provided an excellent display, one of their best at China 2024.

Eventually, Germany staved off Serbia’s comeback, which could only cut the gap to four goals, securing their fifth win in seven matches at China 2024 and finishing in the top-5 of the competition for the third time, after the silver medal at North Macedonia 2014 and the fifth place at Poland 2018.

With 15 minutes to go in the Placement Match 7/8, Japan looked set to secure a win against Croatia and tie their best finish at the IHF Women’s Youth World Championship, set in the maiden edition of the competition, in 2006. But then, Croatia used a 4:0 run, spurred by two goals from left wing Katja Vuković, who had 42 goals at China 2024, to tie the score, 22:22.

The two teams went toe-to-toe until the end, as the match ended in a 26:26 tie, with the winner being decided on penalties. Croatia missed one penalty, while Japan had two misses, meaning that the European side delivered a 30:29 win, ending seventh, which is their best-ever finish in the competition, one place higher than the eighth place in 2016.

Left back Ivana Fratnik (43 goals) and Vuković, jumped on the sixth and seventh place in the provisional top goal scorer standings, showcasing their excellent potential for the future.

Stat of the day: 47 – Germany's Marlene Tucholke became the second best scorer in the provisional top goal scorer standings, with 47 goals, three goals less than Hungary's Virág Fazekas.