Title holders France delivered a commanding win over Denmark for their third straight semi-final appearance, keeping their unbeaten run alive in Rotterdam. They took control early and never let Denmark fully recover, securing a 31:26 win and a new step toward defending their world title.

Quarter-finals
Denmark vs France 26:31 (12:17)

It wasn't the kind of start expected from unbeaten Denmark, especially on the attacking end. For five full minutes, they couldn't break through France's compact 6–0 defence, scoring their first goal only from the seven-metre line and finally finding their first field goal in the sixth minute through Helena Elver.

France punished Denmark's slow start immediately. The title holders opened the account with a clean 3:0 and kept the gap under control throughout the half. Denmark's play was unusually slow, missing their usual pace, and they desperately needed their goalkeepers to join the match. However, neither side had standout numbers early on. The first goalkeeper save of the game arrived only in the 18th minute, courtesy of Hatadou Sako.

Denmark managed to pull within two midway through the half when Kristina Jørgensen scored her fifth penalty of the day, still perfect from the line, and moments later Elma Halilčević cut it even further to 8:9. But the celebration didn't last. Their attack hit another dry spell, going scoreless for five minutes, and France seized the moment with a blistering 4:0 run. With their fast pace, they jumped to a 13:8 lead, a serious challenge for Denmark.

Playing without a goalkeeper caused trouble again for France, and two attacking mistakes were promptly punished by the Danes, who trimmed the gap back to 13:11. But France weathered that Danish push as well. Even after Anna Kristensen finally recorded her first saves, France rose again and, in the closing minutes of the half, stretched the gap back to plus-5 (17:12). Their attack climbed to 65% efficiency, while Denmark sank below the 50% mark.

The opening stretch of the second half brought more turbulence on both ends. Denmark used a drop in France's play to climb back to 17:19, breaking through the defence with far more ease. But once again, France responded at the perfect moment. Sako came up with key saves, Sarah Bouktit was unstoppable on the line, and suddenly France were back at +5 (22:17).

Denmark's Helle Thomsen had to call her third and final time-out already in the 50th minute as her side faltered, and a sheer number of mistakes and hasty decisions hampered any progress. Playing with an extra attacking player also backfired, and France opened a six-goal lead with ten minutes to go.

Title defenders kept their focus sharp in the closing moments and were able to keep Denmark at bay to secure a 31:26 win and stay unbeaten. With eight goals, Sarah Bouktit was their top scorer, followed by six from Clarisse Mairot. In Denmark's disappointment, Kristina Jørgensen netted 11, out of which six came from the penalty line.

France secured their third straight World Championship semi-final and prolonged their chance to defend the title. Denmark, on the other side, had to accept their early exit in the quarter-finals, missing the medal battle at a major competition for the first time since 2019. The French remain an unsolvable puzzle for the Danes in the knock-out stage, this is the fourth time France has beaten them, after the 1999 quarter-final, and the 2011 and 2021 semi-finals.

hummel Player of the Match: Sarah Bouktit (France)