France maintained their perfect record at North Macedonia 2024, as they registered their sixth consecutive win in the tournament, this time in a quarter-final match against Switzerland. 

QUARTER-FINAL
France vs Switzerland 34:26 (16:14)

France are featuring at the IHF Women's Junior World Championship for the 13rd time, but they made it to the top four only for the second time after Czechia 2012, where they earned the silver medal. Eric Baradat's team hope to reach the podium again, and the match again Switzerland demonstrated their quality, depth and consistency yet again.

Left wing Nina Dury and left back Enola Borg became France's top scorers in the quarter-final against Switzerland with seven goals each, while center back Lylou Borg also did well, scoring six goals from six attempts and setting up five further goals. France's goalkeepers also contributed to the team success – in particular Alix Tignon, who played in the second half, boasting a 42% saving efficiency.

However, it was Switzerland's richt back Emma Bächtiger who became the leading scorer of the match with 10 goals. Her impact helped her team to create a 8:6 advantage midway through the first half, and the teams took turns in the lead for a while before France pulled cleat at 16:14 at the break.

In the second half, France's dominance became even clearer. Switzerland failed to score a single goal between the 37th and the 47th minutes, and France increased the gap to 24:18. In the last quarter of the game, Switzerland somewhat improved their attack, as Bächtiger scored a pair goals, but France had no problem clinching a win. 

France are through into the semi-final, where they meet Denmark, while Switzerland will go to the Placement Matches 5-8. Two years ago at Slovenia 2022, the Swiss team finished eighth, and now their goal is to rank higher. 

Alkaloid Player of the Match: Kim Emi, Swtzerland