France, Sweden, Japan and Germany opened their account at Romania 2026 with big wins, with France setting a new record of goal difference at the IHF Women's Youth World Championship.

Group A
France vs Republic of Fiji 55:2 (27:1)

France produced a commanding start at Romania 2026 against debutants Republic of Fiji, the first Pacific nation to compete at the IHF Women's Youth World Championship. The gulf in experience and quality was evident from the opening minutes, and the halftime score only underlined it further.

France scored an impressive 27 goals in the first 30 minutes, while Fiji found the net just once. That goal, however, was a historic one, with left back Ro Banuve Logavatu becoming the first Fijian player to score at the IHF Women's Youth World Championship.

It marked only the second time in the competition's history that a team has scored just once in the first half. The previous instance came in 2008, when Hong Kong - coincidentally, also against France - trailed 23:1 at halftime before eventually losing 3:48.

Fiji simply could not match their European opponents, managing only eight shots on goal, seven of which were saved by Gabrielle Kabeya Tshisola. Turnovers continued to pile up for the debutants, while France had no trouble converting their chances at the other end, with Grace Mpioso Mabilama among those leading the charge in Craiova.

The pattern continued after the break, with France adding goal after goal while Fiji had to wait until the 46th minute for their second, scored by Litia Vuniwai. Fiji's task was made even harder by their shortened rotation, with only 12 players featuring on the scoresheet, including just 10 outfield players.

That proved to be their final goal of the match, while all 14 French outfield players found the net and both goalkeepers finished with save efficiencies above 80%. France reached the 50-goal mark in the 54th minute, doing so for only the second time in their history at this level.

Their eventual 55:2 victory became France's biggest-ever win at the IHF Women's Youth World Championship, surpassing the 50:14 win against India in 2024. The 53-goal margin also set a new competition record, overtaking the previous benchmark of 49 goals held jointly by Slovakia and Republic of Korea.

France will next face Egypt in a clash between the Group A leaders, while Fiji take on Croatia.

Player of the Match: Thya Hellegoet (France)

Group C
Germany vs Uzbekistan 44:13 (20:4)

Germany joined the list of European teams enjoying a comfortable opening day at Romania 2026, taking firm control against 2025 IHF Trophy U17-Asia winners Uzbekistan.

The Germans opened with a 4:0 run before Uzbekistan finally got on the scoresheet, but another lengthy drought followed, and the Asian side had to wait until the 20th minute for their next goal. Germany made the most of that spell, combining strong defensive work with quick transitions to stretch the gap to 13:1.

Germany also spread the attacking load across the squad, with as many as 12 different players on the scoresheet by halftime. Uzbekistan improved in the closing stages of the half, with Shalola Keldiyorova leading their efforts to push their tally to four goals.

By full time, every German outfield player had found the net at least once, while goalkeeper Lotta Willuhn earned the hummel Player of the Match award after making 11 saves from 15 shots in the second half.

Uzbekistan could do little to change the course of the match after the break, as their attack continued to struggle against Germany's defence. The Europeans repeatedly punished Uzbekistan's 27 turnovers with quick transitions, scoring 13 fast-break goals on their way to a commanding 44:13 victory.

Germany will face Guinea in the next round, while Uzbekistan look for an improved performance against reigning champions Spain.

Player of the Match: Lotta Willuhn (Germany)

Group B
Japan vs Angola 39:19 (19:9)

In their opening match, Japan took a confident win over Angola and edged close to the main round. The Asian side now top Group G, ahead of Slovakia on goal difference, while Angola sit bottom of the group.

Japan enjoyed a perfect start to the game, opening up a 4:0 lead before Elisa Caneculo scored Angola's first goal of the day. Japan increased the gap to 12:3 midway through the first half, punishing their African rivals for multiple mistakes. Angola somewhat stabilised their game after that, but Japan's 10-goal lead at the break hardly left any questions about the winner.

Angola made as many as 31 turnovers during the encounter, while Japan, who went on to dominate the second half, scored 13 goals from fast breaks. Twelve Japanese players netted at least once, with four of them — Hina Miura, Rio Hamaguchi, Miina Nakasuji and Rinoa Nakagawa — scoring six goals each, helping the Asians win by 20 goals.

On Thursday, Japan will continue the tournament against Brazil, while Angola will face Slovakia.

Player of the Match: Miina Nakasuji (Japan)

Group E
Sweden vs Canada 36:14 (16:9)

Sweden went top of the group with their win against Canada, dominating the match from start to finish, albeit with Canada starting with a 2:0 run, preventing their opponents to score for two minutes and 40 seconds.

But Sweden were not in any danger, as they quickly turned it around, with a 5:1 run which turned the match on its head, with Elsa Bergkvist scoring both of her goals during that match.

However, Canada managed to stay afloat and not ship too many goals in defence, being seven goals behind at the break, 9:16, but with Sweden having a lot more depth, things got better for the European side at the break, especially on defence.

Sienna Karström saved nine shots for a 47% saving efficiency, while Canada’s shooting efficiency dropped for 48% in the first half to around 30% in the second part, as the gap continued to grow. 

12 of Sweden’s 13 outfield players scored at least one goal, with the gap immediately reaching double digits in the start of the second half, as Canada had big scoring woes. Eventually, they only scored five times in the second half and conceded a 14:36 loss.

Player of the Match: Tuva Schmidinger (Sweden)