Co-hosts Netherlands made it two out of two and punched their ticket for the main round with a clear win over Egypt, 37:15.

GROUP E
Egypt vs Netherlands 15:37 (10:18)

The Ahoy Arena in Rotterdam was once again sold out for the second match played by the Netherlands at the 2025 IHF Women’s World Championship and once again they navigated comfortably through the sea of orange shirts which supported them, to take a clear win and progress to the main round.

Once again, coach Henrik Signell gave meaningful time to all players, constantly shifting his line-up, to make sure that all of his players are well-rested before the decisive clashes which will follow, but right back Dione Housheer still provided a fantastic outing, with seven goals, just as Bo van Wetering and Zoe Sprengers scored eight and six goals each, all three Dutch players without missing a single shot.

It was Estavana Polman’s 200th cap for her national team, and the MVP of the 2019 IHF Women’s World Championship celebrated it by scoring the first goal, setting up the tone for the match.

Egypt, the youngest team in the competition, with an average age of 22.8 years old, was down three goals after five minutes, but their most experienced player, Ehsan Abdelnaim, was once again providing the goods, scoring four goals and dishing three assists in the first half, to help her side keep the gap under control.

But soon, Egypt’s turnovers started to be converted into easy goals by the Dutch side on fast breaks. By the 41st minute, when the Netherlands led by 14 goals, 25:11, 11 of those goals – the same number as the entire Egypt team – were scored on fast breaks, with Netherlands’ wings combining for 10 goals.

While Netherlands did make their mistakes, the difference was also made by the goalkeepers, with Rinka Duijndam stopping 13 shots for a 57% saving efficiency, while the two Egypt goalkeepers – Mai Gomaa and Gihad Sayed – had a 12% saving efficiency.

In the first 15 minutes of the second half, Egypt scored one goal, splitting a 8:0 and another 7:0 run for the Netherlands, which boosted the co-hosts to an 18-goal lead, 29:11, with 14 minutes to go, as the co-hosts totally dominated on both sides of the ball.

Efficient fast breaks were the theme until the end of the match for the Netherlands, which easily clinched their second win in a row, 37:15, and can now focus on the match against Austria, the battle between the two already qualified teams in the group.

Egypt still have a chance to progress to the main round, when they face Argentina on Tuesday, with the winner making it to the next phase. Only a win is enough for Egypt, as they have a lower goal difference than the South American side.

hummel Player of the Match: Rinka Duijndam (Netherlands)