Two European countries will battle for the President’s Cup on Friday at the 2026 IHF Women’s Youth World Championship, after Croatia and Portugal won their matches in Râmnicu Vâlcea.

Canada will take on Guinea for the Placement Match 25/26, after both sides beat teams from their own continent earlier in the day.

Placement Matches 17-20
Croatia v Tunisia 33:23 (18:12)
Portugal vs Brazil 31:22 (17:6)

Just like their senior counterparts at the IHF Women’s Junior World Championship a month ago, Croatia booked their place in the President’s Cup final, while Tunisia will play for 19th place in their first appearance at the competition since 2018.

The Croats made a confident start with an aggressive 5-1 defence that quickly paid off. After the opening 10 minutes, they opened a three-goal lead before stretching it to four, with Antea Jerković leading the attack. Tunisia had their moments, and goalkeeper Ritaj Ben El Ghali made several important saves, but too many attacking mistakes prevented the African side from closing the gap before halftime.

Croatia remained in control throughout the second half, building an eight-goal cushion before Tunisia briefly reduced the deficit to five at 21:16 in the 51st minute. The Croats quickly restored control with a 4:0 run and finished strongly to seal a comfortable double-digit victory.

Portugal made a confident start in the battle for a place in the President's Cup final, opening up a 4:1 lead before both sides endured an eight-minute scoring drought. Once the deadlock was broken, Portugal quickly regained the momentum. Backed by goalkeeper Leonor Ramos, who recorded a 50% save efficiency in the opening half, the Europeans steadily increased their advantage with every attack.

Brazil struggled to find any attacking rhythm, with only three of their eight outfield scorers finding the net in the first half. Brenda Gabrielli de Almeida Mendes accounted for four of Brazil's six first-half goals, while Portugal took full advantage of their opponents' defensive struggles to build a commanding 17:6 half-time lead.

Brazil showed greater attacking promise after the restart and capitalised on a slight drop in Portugal's concentration late in the match. However, the outcome was never in doubt, as Portugal comfortably saw out the contest, with Catarina Bernardino leading the way with seven goals in a 31:22 victory.

Portugal will face Croatia in the President's Cup final, while Brazil, now guaranteed their lowest-ever finish at the IHF Women's Youth World Championship, will meet Tunisia in the 19th-place match.

Placement Matches 25-28
Mexico vs Canada 16:19 (11:7)
Guinea vs Angola 24:19 (14:10)

It was a tale of two halves between Mexico and Canada, with Canada finally bouncing back after a mediocre first half, turning the tables in a match which went to the wire.

The deciding minutes were the last, when Canada went on a 4:0 run to win the match, preventing their opponents from scoring for the last seven minutes and 31 seconds.

But until then, Mexico looked to be running away with the win, as Maria Munoz Sosa and Myrna Silva Rodriguez each scored four goals to lead the charge, while goalkeepers Hanna Juarez Castillo and Melina Hernandez Rubio had a combined saving efficiency of 46%.

While Canada’s top scorer, Azalée Morissette-Davies had a single goal from five shots, Kim-My Desilets and Zoé Allard took over, scoring four goals each, as Liv Jimerson scored two of the last four goals to power Canada to a 19:16 win.

The African derby between Guinea and Angola was one which had plenty of ups and downs, with streaks of both teams deciding the winner eventually.

First, Guinea went on a 6:0 run which saw them open a seven-goal lead, 14:7, but Angola, just after the break, had two runs of three unanswered goals to cut the gap to only three goals, 16:13.

Guinea’s Aisattou Diallo and Yarie Mansare combined for 14 goals in the match, as Angola’s efficiency and number of turnovers – 20 – hampered their chances, with Guinea taking a 24:19 win and facing Canada in the Placement Match 25/26.