Croatia and Portugal joined Tunisia and Brazil in the battle for the President’s Cup at the 2026 IHF Women’s Youth World Championship, winning their last match in the groups, against Czechia and Guinea respectively.

President’s Cup
Group I
Croatia vs Czechia 34:24 (20:16)
Fiji vs Mexico 12:39 (9:23)

Croatia won the President’s Cup at the 2025 IHF Women’s World Championship, at the 2026 IHF Women Junior World Chanpionship and now they will have the chance to complete the treble at the 2026 IHF Women’s Youth World Championship, after securing the win in the last match of the group against Czechia, 34:24.

There was no question about the winner in this match, as Croatia started off with a 5:1 run and never looked back, as Czechia lost their consistency in attack, without providing a clear-minded performance.

The turnovers were the main culprit in Czechia’s performance, as the European side lost 23 balls in attack through errors, while Croatia had only eight in 60 minutes, with the shooting efficiency being comparable, with Croatia scoring 62% of their shots, and Czechia staying at 59%.

Maja Košćec and Rahela Varga were Croatia’s top scorers, with eight and six goals respectively, with a strong scoring first half, which saw 36 goals scored, while the second half had only 22, almost half.

The gap was made in the closing stages of the match, when Croatia jumped to a 5:0 run between the 47th and the 52nd minute, as eventually they secured a 34:24 win and the first place in the group, setting up a clash against Tunisia on Thursday.

Czechia will face Kazakhstan in the Placement Matches 21-24 on Thursday.

In the battle of the debutants at the 2026 IHF Women’s Youth World Championship, Mexico secured their maiden win, 39:12, against Fiji, with the recipe being the same as in Fiji’s previous matches.

Mexico’s goalkeeper punched way over above the 50% shooting efficiency, while Laura Sanchez Rodriguez scored seven goals, as the result of the match was never in doubt. Mexico were up 23:9 at the break and followed up in the second half, with Fiji conceding, eventually, the lowest number of goals in this event, 39.

Group II
Guinea vs Portugal 23:28 (11:20)
Uzbekistan vs Argentina 24:38 (11:21)

Portugal ensured their spot in the Placement Matches 17-20 after their win yesterday against Uzbekistan, but continued their good run of form with yet another win against Guinea, making it three out of six at this event.

The core of the win came in the first half, when Portugal started strong and opened a 20:11 lead after 30 minutes, with the European side running riot in attack and totally outplaying Guinea.

However, the African side balanced the result in the second half, as Aissatou Diallo scored eight goals and dished four assists, cutting the gap in half. With plenty of players substituted in the second part of the match, Portugal turned the ball over even more times than Guinea – 16 to 14 – but their goalkeepers reached double the number of saves – helping protect the lead.

Maria Rita Lopes was Portugal’s top scorer, with nine goals, as the European side finished first in the group, playing against Brazil in the Placement Matches 17-20, while Guinea ended on the third place and will play in the Placement Matches 25-28.

In the last match of the group, Argentina emerged victorious against Uzbekistan, making it to the Placement Matches 21-24, after their best performance in the competition so far.

A free-flowing Argentina attack, fueled by over 30 turnovers from Uzbekistan, provided close to 40 goals, as Melina Ailen Cabrera Mazzei scored seven goals, topping the charts, with only one of Argentina’s outfield players not entering the scoresheet.

Eventually, the 38:24 Argentina win sent Uzbekistan to the Placement Matches 29-32, where they face Algeria, with Argentina facing Serbia.