Senegal are returning to the IHF Women’s World Championship for the third time in history and for the second consecutive time in a row, after finishing 18th in both of their previous appearances in the competition.

But while in 2019 they only secured one win in the preliminary round, against Kazakhstan, 30:20, and then beat DR Congo, in the President’s Cup, two years ago they qualified for the main round with a win against the People’s Republic of China, 22:15, and then produced a huge shock drawing against Croatia, 22:22.

They also beat Cameroon, 22:20, in the main round, tying their best performance in the competition, but their performance was good enough to propel close to the midway point in the final standings, with some experienced players in the squad which helped Senegal to produce these results.

The African side chose to retain their coach, Yacine Messaoudi, for the last two years and built on those results, as they are now back at the IHF Women’s World Championship, after another successful campaign at the 2024 CAHB African Women’s Handball Championship.

Senegal secured the silver medal in the continental championship only twice prior to the previous edition, in 1974 and in 2018. But the previous edition saw Senegal build on their performance, despite a slow start in the preliminary round, where they finished on the third place, losing against Congo, 17:25.

Nevertheless, they picked up their form and eliminated Cameroon in the quarter-finals, 26:19, then went on to dominate Tunisia, 26:18 in the semi-finals, delivering some excellent defensive performances on their way to the final, and a place at the 2025 IHF Women’s World Championship.

However, Senegal are still some way off Angola, Africa’s dominating team, as they conceded a 17:28 loss in the final and had to settle for bronze, despite being close to drop a bombhsell in October 2023, in the African Qualification for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, when they lost by a single goal against the continental champions.

Much of Senegal’s success came through thanks to their players who have been featuring in Europe, with a plethora plying their trade at club level in France, one of the most balanced leagues in the world.

The All-Star left back at the 2024 CAHB African Women’s Handball Championship, Soukeina Sagna, was born in France and featured at Mios-Bègles, Paris 92 and Mérignac Handball. Line player Hawa N'Diaye, also born in France, has featured at Metz Handball, as well as in clubs in Hungary, Romania, Slovenia and now at Buducnost, in Montenegro, with several Champions League seasons under her belt. And Senegal have also named Aïssatou Kouyaté in their extended roster, a player who represented France and won a silver medal at the EHF EURO 2020, currently at Rapid București, in Romania.

If everything is clicking, Senegal can be a tough team to beat, as proven two years ago in the match against Croatia. But they will surely be underdogs against Hungary and Switzerland in this preliminary round, while they are favoured in the match against the Islamic Republic of Iran.

But with Group B battling against Group A teams in the main round, Senegal will need points from the matches against the qualified teams, provided they make it into the next phase, in order to tie their previous performance.

Key players: Soukeina Sagna (left back), Aïssatou Kouyaté (right back), Hawa N'Diaye (line player)

Coach: Yacine Messaoudi

Qualification for GER/NED 2025: 2024 CAHB African Women’s Handball Championship: Runners-up

History in tournament: 2019: 18th, 2023: 18th

Group at GER/NED 2025: Group B (Hungary, Switzerland, Senegal, Islamic Republic of Iran)