The IHF Women’s World Championship brings together the largest collection of stars in the world, as stalwarts from all continents are getting ready to represent their national teams at the world handball flagship competition.

Ask anyone and they will say that the proudest they felt in their careers was when they shined on the court for their national teams, and with the 26th edition of the IHF Women’s World Championship ready to start in Denmark, Norway and Sweden, this is exactly the time when those stars really need to up their game.

Of course, there will be only one winner, but performances can be epic regardless of the final result. We sifted through the rosters of the 32 teams which are getting ready for the competition and we identified some of the players who are most likely to shine in the competition.

Jamina Roberts (Sweden)

This will be the sixth time Jamina Roberts will take the court at the IHF Women’s World Championship, as the centre back made her debut in the world handball flagship competition in 2011. Sweden have always made the top 10 in those editions, with the best result being the fourth place at Germany 2017, when the Scandinavian side narrowly missed out on a medal.

Now aged 33 years old, Roberts is the fifth most capped Swedish player, with 218 matches, and will jump on the second place in the all-time apperances standings if Sweden make it to the quarter-finals, while also sits on the sixth place in the best scorer standings, with 543 goals.

With a huge experience behind her, Roberts will likely feature for one of the last times at the IHF Women’s World Championship and this will only serve as a huge motivation, especially as Sweden are co-hosting the competition for the first time in history.




 

Katrin Klujber (Hungary)

At only 24 years old, the Hungarian Female Player of the Year in 2022 is already featuring at the third edition of the IHF Women’s World Championship, having scored 34 goals combined in the previous two appearances, at Japan 2019 and Spain 2021. However, Klujber has been one of the most consistent scorers in European handball and is due for a breakthrough appearance at Denmark/Norway/Sweden 2023.

The right back is the best active scorer in the Hungary team at this edition of the IHF Women’s World Championship, with 336 goals in only 65 appearances and she will likely need one year to break into the all-time top 10 of the goal scorer standings for the European side, a huge performance for such a young player.

Stine Bredal Oftedal (Norway)

Only one player – Camilla Herrem - has won more medals at the IHF Women’s World Championship than Stine Oftedal’s four-medal tally. The centre back has been present at six editions of the world handball flagship competition, winning three titles and one silver medal, being in all-time top 10 for Norway for both caps and goals.

Surely, Norway have a stellar line-up here, especially as they are on their home court, with Katrine Lunde, Henny Reistad and Nora Mork in the squad, but Oftedal usually acts like the glue holding up everything together, entering a machine-like mode at times, when she is needed.

Announcing her retirement from international handball after the Paris 2024 Olympic Games means that this will likely be the last chance to see the centre back starring for Norway at the IHF Women’s World Championship and what better way than to deliver a superb performance on the home court in Stavanger and Trondheim until the semi-finals?

Ryu Eun Hee (Republic of Korea)

Now 33 years old, Ryu Eun Hee is the only player from the Republic of Korea’s roster who is featuring outside of the domestic league, at Győri Audi ETO KC. But she is also the most experienced player in the Asian side’s roster, as the Republic of Korea are aiming to secure their first top-10 finish since China 2009.

Denmark/Norway/Sweden 2023 might be the last edition of the IHF Women’s World Championship the right back ever plays in and she will be coming in top form, after proving her worth in the 2022 AHF Asian Women’s Handball Championship, when she lifted Korea to the title, with a 19-goal performance in the final against Japan, 34:29.

With a group against Norway, Austria and Greenland, Korea can challenge for one of top 10 spots in the competition, but they will need good performance from both Ryu and her teammates, which emphasises her importance in the squad.

Cristina Neagu (Romania)

From the provisional squad sent by Romania, there is a clear player standing out for the team which won the silver medal at Russia 2005 and secured the bronze at Denmark 2015. Cristina Neagu has scored more goals at the IHF Women’s World Championship than the entire Romania squad combined, with her 247 goals standing head and shoulders above the others.

Neagu is eager to return to the IHF Women’s World Championship after taking a break in 2021, Denmark/Norway/Sweden 2023 being her seventh edition of the competition, 16 years after making a superb debut at France 2007. However, the left back has been injured, did not train for the past three weeks, and missed all three friendly matches at the Carpathian Trophy last weekend.

Yet with the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on the horizon and the competitive spirit proven throughout her whole career, Neagu will do everything in her power to be on the court in the Jyske Bank Boxen in Herning, even if that means she will miss one or two games – the first tests scheduled against Chile and Serbia in the preliminary round, before the showdown against Denmark.

Pauletta Foppa (France)

The All-Star line player at Spain 2021 is one of the plethora of special players in France’s roster, one of the most consistent teams over the past seven years in major international competitions. And Foppa has surely been part of that, having delivered in crunch time, alongside Grace Zaadi and Estelle Nze Minko.

Only 23 years old, Foppa is one of the most experienced players in the current France squad, with over 70 caps under her name and with 179 goals, being an excellent player on both sides of the ball, with good performances both in attack and defence, as France’s experienced coach, Olivier Krumbholz, relying on her.

Sandra Toft (Denmark)

The IHF Female Player of the Year in 2021, Toft has reached full maturity and was named the All-Star goalkeeper at both the 2021 IHF Women’s World Championship, as well as the EHF EURO in 2016 and 2020. However, something is still missing for Toft and that is a title with Denmark.

Toft has proven herself over her career and is at the pinnacle right now, especially as Denmark sealed the bronze medal at the 2021 IHF Women’s World Championship and the silver at the EHF EURO 2022, with the natural progression being the gold medal here, at Denmark/Norway/Sweden 2023.

With Denmark building up their success in the past years on their magnificent defence, this will mean Toft will be of the utmost importance in front of the fans in the Jyske Bank Boxen in Herning.

Bruna de Paula Almeida (Brazil)

When Brazil secured their maiden title at the IHF Women’s World Championship in 2013, centre back Bruna de Paula Almeida was only 16 years old. That win certainly inspired an entire generation of Brazilian players to try and get better and replicate that success, but that is almost impossible, with the South American side being clearly a team which everyone pays attention to.

10 years later, Bruna de Paula became the fulcrum of the new Brazil team, having already made the quarter-finals at Spain 2021. The South American side will be looking to ride the wave after their title at the 2023 Pan American Games in this edition of the world handball flagship competition and Bruna de Paula surely is the leader of the squad, despite being one of the youngest players.

Her excellent pace, complemented by a superb skill, can create headaches for the opponents, and will likely deliver good results for Brazil once again.

Estavana Polman (Netherlands)

The MVP of the 2019 IHF Women’s World Championship is back in the competition, after missing out on the previous edition, due to an injury which kept her a lengthy period outside the court. Now, the 31 year old centre back is ready again, after being ushered on the court once again in October, after missing time at the start of the new season due to another injury.

Polman was crucial for the Netherlands four years ago and at her sixth edition of the IHF Women’s World Championship is both one of the most experienced and the most influential players for the Netherlands, which are aiming to get back into the fold, after a disappointing outing at Spain 2021.

As one of the best 10 scorers in history for the Dutch side, Polman is eager to prove herself, as her passion for handball is next to none, hoping to prove once again she belongs between the top players in the world, as she did at Japan 2019, when she was both the MVP and the All-Star centre back.