After eight teams entered the fray at the 2023 IHF Women’s World Championship on Wednesday, 16 others will follow suit in Groups B, D, F and H throughout four venues, in Helsingborg, Stavanger, Herning and Frederikshavn.

Favourites like France, Hungary, the Netherlands or Germany will be on display, as they will all look to avoid surprises, exactly like their rivals did on Wednesday.

GROUP B
18:00 CET Montenegro vs Cameroon

The 2021 IHF Women's World Championship could hardly be called a success for Montenegro, as the 21st place was their worst-ever result in the competition, but the European side bounced back at the EHF EURO 2022, earning the bronze medal in style.

Now the Europeans hope to build on that performance, but it will not be easy, given that right wing Jovanka Radicevic finished her international career, left back Djurdjina Jaukovic is out at Denmark/Norway/Sweden 2023 through an injury, and centre back Milena Raicevic is not in the roster, with key experienced players missing for the European side.

Earlier this week, Montenegro finished second at a friendly competition in Croatia, as they beat Congo 33:26, before narrowly losing to the hosts, 25:26. And in their opening match at the World Championship, they will be seen as strong favourites against Cameroon.

The African side is heading into their fourth IHF Women's World Championship, with the 20th place at Germany 2017 being their best-ever result. Now the team which earned the silver medal at the 2022 African Women's Handball Championship hopes to progress to the main round, and it looks like the game against Paraguay will be crucial for them.

In recent friendly matches, Cameroon lost against the Republic of Korea (21:27) and fellow African team Senegal (16:22), and it will be very hard for them to snatch any points from Montenegro. However, the Cameroonians do not give up in advance and will try to fight hard. 

20:30 CET Hungary vs Paraguay
After finishing eighth at Serbia 2013, Hungary failed to reach the quarter-final in any of the next four editions of the IHF Women's World Championship, finishing between the 10th and the 15th place in the last four editions of the competition. However, with a strong core getting more and more experienced, the European team hope to go as far as possible. 

Even without players like Melinda Szikora and Noemi Hafra, head coach Vladimir Golovin has a good mix of youth and experience at his disposal, and before the start of Demark/Norway/Sweden 2023, as his team traded wins with Netherlands in friendly matches, losing 23:25 and winning 34:32.

Reaching the main round should be no problem for Hungary, who will be heavily favoured to win their opening match against Paraguay. The two sides have never faced each other before, and while the South Americans are playing for the fifth time at this level, their best result is the 21st position at Serbia 2013 and Germany 2017.

Two years ago at Spain 2021, Paraguay finished 29th, losing five of their seven matches and defeating China and Uzbekistan in the President's Cup. Now the winners of the 2023 Central American Women's Championship are determined to do better – but on Thursday, they will have a hard time against Hungary. 

Group F
18:00 CET Germany vs Japan

Germany are on the rise since their 13th place at the World Championship 2015. It was followed by 12th place in 2017, finishing eight in 2019 and finally seventh at Spain 2021. The aim is to use Norway/Denmark/Sweden 2023 as a springboard ahead of the 2025 IHF Women's World Championship, which they are co-hosting alongside the Netherlands.

Right at the start of Denmark/Norway/Sweden 2023, they will face a challenging task against Japan. The 2022 AHF Asian Women's Handball Championship runners-up proved their skills not only in the finals against the Republic of Korea at the 2022 Asian Games, where they secured a 10-goal win, 29:19, but also in friendly matches ahead of the World Championship. Shigeo Kusumoto's players beat Spain, Serbia and Argentina and they hope their streak against European teams will be extended in Herning, where they take on Germany.

Germany do not have a wide experience against teams like Japan and they will have to find a way to stop their fast transition. Even though Xenia Smits is questionable for this match, Germany rely on top players who are used to playing at a high level, like left back Emily Bölk and centre back Alina Grijseels.

“It will be a difficult opening game, the last results show that they are very dangerous. It's a different type of handball, the physical advantages are on our side with more force and more mass, but Japan wants to put us under stress with their fast game and block our passing lanes. We are prepared for that,” said Germany's head coach Markus Gaugisch for handball.net.

In their rich World Championship history, Germany played against Japan seven times. The only time the Asian side managed to win was in Yugoslavia 1973 over then West Germany (13:10). Their most recent encounter was in 1999 when Germany got their hands on a double-digit win.

20:30 CET Poland vs Islamic Republic of Iran

Poland have made strides since the 2021 IHF Women's World Handball Championship and their performance at the EHF EURO 2022 underlines this predicament. A more mature team, despite few injuries, will try to cap off their best performance and catch at the least second place in Group G, where they are also due to face Germany and Japan. The first match against the Islamic Republic of Iran could be important in order to break the ice ahead of the clashes with other favourites for the same goal.

The Islamic Republic of Iran are only at their second-ever appearance at the flagship competition after a debut in Spain 2021. Still learning while making crucial steps in the development of handball in the country, the Islamic Republic of Iran aim to improve their 31st place from the previous competition and seal more wins than two years ago.

“We have a very interesting group waiting for us. I believe that almost all teams have a chance to even take first place. Iran is definitely a slightly lower-class team. We will have to concentrate properly and win. Of course, all matches at the championship have their rules and I am not saying that any of them will be easy, but we have an obligation to win against Iran,” said Poland's team captain Monika Kobylińska for zprp.pl.

Denmark/Norway/Sweden 2023 will be the first time these two sides face off, as Poland are featuring for the 18th team at the world handball flagship competition

Group D
18:00 CET Slovenia vs Iceland 

Slovenia's best ranking at the IHF Women's World Championship is eighth in 2003 but since then they have barely finished inside the top 15.

Now led by Montenegrin coach Dragan Adzic, a record eighth-place finish at the Women's EHF EURO 2022 showed the progress he has made.

His side features one of the global icons of women’s handball in right back Ana Gros, but an injury to her hamstring means she will not lead the team against an Iceland side who are making just their second appearance at a Women's World Championship after a 12-year gap when they finished 12th back in 2011.

Their place came via a wildcard spot following a loss against Hungary in the European qualification round. But with their second chance now in the offing, head coach Arnar Pétursson, who has been with the team since 2019, will look to playmaker Sandra Erlingsdottir and left back Andrea Jacobsen to guide their way to success.

In their head-to-head meetings Slovenia sealed their spot at Spain 2021 after a 45:35 aggregate win against Iceland, with Iceland earning a 21:21 draw at home. Another draw, 30:30, came in the EHF EURO 2018 Qualifiers five years ago.

20:30 CET France vs Angola 

Last time out, France left the IHF Women’s World Championship with a silver medal after losing the 2021 final in Spain to Norway (21:23).

This time, they will want to return to the top of podium they last stood on in 2017, but having already qualified (as hosts) for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games they will face teams battling it out for direct qualification themselves, and this could provide a big challenge.

“It’s an important competition, perhaps even more so for our opponents than for us,” said France coach Olivier Krumbholz to ffhandball.fr ahead of the game. “This is the last opportunity to snag a ticket, a very important element to take into account. However, this will not be an excuse for not performing at the World Championship.”

Just four players in the 2023 France squad remain from that final in 2017 – Grace Zaadi Deuna, Laura Flippes, Orlane Kanor and Estelle Nze Minko – and they will be key as they line up for Krumbholz in his last-ever world championship (he will retire after Paris 2024).

Angola may have quite modest expectations themselves with the African champions hoping to improve on their worst-ever IHF Women’s World Championship finish – 25th – at Spain 2021. Liliane Mario was part of the squad who finished sixth at the 2022 IHF Women’s Junior World Championship and is one to watch, having now made the step up to the senior side.

In their nine head-to-head games, France have eight wins, including three in a row at the IHF Women’s World Championship. At Germany 2017, France took a 29:16 win, at Japan 2019 it was 28:17 and at Spain 2021 it was a 30:20 victory. Angola’s only win came at France 2007, when they beat France on their home court, 29:27.

Group H
18:00 CET Netherlands vs Argentina

After three consecutive World Championship editions where they have been fighting for the medal and consequently have won gold in 2019, the Netherlands did not make it to the top eight at Spain 2021. Eager to return to the top, the Netherlands are coming to Denmark/Norway/Sweden 2023 with a fit squad, full of experienced players like Kelly Dulfer, Angela Malestein and goalkeeper Tess Lieder.

“We have high ambitions at the championship, but it is also incredibly important that we secure an Olympic qualification place with a good result. It is important for us to win the group stage to take the maximum number of points to the main round where, I believe, it will be between us, Spain and Brazil for the group victory. The first big goal is to reach the quarter-finals, then we hope to be able to compete for the medals,” said head coach Per Johansson for handball.nl ahead of the start of the World Championship.

They will be aiming to open their account against Argentina who have booked their ticket for the flagship competition for the 11th consecutive time. However, the Netherlands will be favoured against the South American side, which has never finished higher than 16th. Nevertheless, the team led by Eduardo Gallardo will aim to finish in front of Congo and secure their second main-round berth.

While the Netherlands tested themselves against Hungary last week, winning and losing once, Argentina had a tough time at the tournament in Spain, being defeated by Japan, Spain and Serbia.

The Netherlands and Argentina have never met before at the World Championship but they have two games recorded, including the Rio 2016 Group B match with the Dutch side winning 26:18.

20:30 CET Czechia vs Congo

The Czechia look to be on the rise and are eager to deliver a good performance here, in this competition. After failing to qualify for two consecutive World Championships, in 2021 they finally made it to the final tournament, but were left disappointed after finishing 19th. Czechia decided to take a new turn and hired Norwegian Bent Dahl as a new head coach.

Dahl's team passed the first test, qualifying for Denmark/Norway/Sweden 2023, eliminating Switzerland and boosted by the top performances of star Markéta Jeřábková, Czechia want to make a better mark in the World Championship. 

“We will be able to pass from the base group to the main stage and score as many points as possible. If we reached the quarter-finals, I think it would be a huge achievement. At the same time, the dream is to go further and have a chance for Olympic qualification, although, of course, it will be extremely difficult,” said coach Dahl for handball.cz.

Czechia are entering the World Championship quest against a familiar foe, Congo. Two sides clashed in main round Group III at Spain 2021 when the European side took a hard-fought 24:21 win. This time, Czechia hope for an easier win as Congo are clear underdog of the group.

Entering the 2023 IHF Women’s World Championship as bronze medallists from the 2022 CAHB African Women's Handball Championship, Congo still dreams of repeating 2021 success, when they were the only African team in the main round. During the preparation period, they faced Croatia and Montenegro, suffering double-digit defeats. Yet, Younes Tatby hopes his players learned from their mistakes and will be able to keep up with more experienced players.

WHERE TO WATCH - For those fans who cannot come and experience the fast-paced action of one of the most popular sports in the world live, there are numerous opportunities to watch and listen to the competition through a variety of television, radio and streaming outlets across the globe – thanks to our partner SPORTFIVE, the official media distribution agency of the IHF.