Spain broke their duck at the 2024 IHF Women’s Junior World Championship, stopping a two-match losing streak against Serbia, 32:17. Both teams will, however, continue in the President’s Cup, as France and Germany are the two qualified teams to the main round from Group F.

GROUP F
Spain vs Serbia 32:17 (12:8)

Arriving as a replacement team for New Zealand in Group F at the 2024 IHF Women’s Junior World Championship, Serbia did not look to be an easy opponent in an already complicated group, with three European sides – France, Germany and Spain.

But after two losses, both Serbia and Spain were only playing for pride and for a chance of a better finishing position at North Macedonia 2024, with Serbia especially backed into a tough corner, after double-digits losses against France and Germany.

The start was not particularly encouraging this time again for Serbia, which went down four goals early, 1:5, with only a single goal scored in seven minutes, as Spain totally delivered, with back Eider Poles Olucha breaking through three times and scoring with her first three shots.

Serbia bounced back and cut the gap, but a 5:0 run for Spain between the 16th and 27th minutes saw the gap balloon to seven goals, 12:5, as goalkeeper Aida Fernandez del Rio had six saves for a 46% saving efficiency for her side. A 3:0 unanswered run for Serbia weathered the storm, with Spain failing to score in the last three minutes of the first half, but the gap was still big, four goals, 12:8.

Any hope for Serbia was immediately quashed by a flawless start from Spain, a 4:0 unanswered run which created the biggest gap between the two sides, eight goals, 16:8, with two of those goals coming after fast breaks, as Spain defence proved too strong for Serbia.

Running the show in the second part was left back Carmen Arroyo Pimienta, who scored eight times, delivering a pitch perfect performance, which eventually lifted Spain to a clear 32:17 win, their maiden one at North Macedonia 2024. Poles closely followed by, with her seven goals, as the recipe was basically the same for Serbia, which collapsed totally in the second half against Germany and France, conceding big losses.

With two points from three matches, Spain finished third in Group F and will start the President’s Cup with the same two points earned against Serbia. The two sides will face Czechia and Algeria, with another three European sides vying for the first place.

Alkaloid Player of the Match: Carmen Arroyo Pimienta (Spain)