Denmark/Norway/Sweden: The Best – After the quarter-finals

14 Dec. 2023

Denmark/Norway/Sweden: The Best – After the quarter-finals

With just eight games left of the 2023 IHF Women’s World Championship, ihf.info looks at the 104 ‘hummel Best Player of the Match’ awards given throughout the Preliminary Pound, Main Round, President’s Cup and Quarter-Final games.

Every single match at DEN/NOR/SWE 2023 saw fans have the opportunity to help decide the ‘hummel Player of the Match’ award, via the IHF Official App with the IHF Analyst on site nominating a shortlist of three influential players with five minutes remaining and getting fans to vote.

To read more about the award and hummel's commitment to fostering empowerment and inclusion through sports by donating handball equipment to the FANT organisation, click here.

To view the data from the Preliminary Round, click here, or Main Round, click here.

Two of the three co-host nations – Norway and Sweden have a perfect record – taking all seven awards in their seven games.

In terms of continents, the European Handball Federation (EHF) leads the way with 64 of the 104 awards on offer (61.5%). All five continental federations represented at DEN/NOR/SWE 2023 have won at least one award.

Two players top the list with four awards each, Romania’s centre back Eliza Buceschi and Chile goalkeeper Madeleine Noelia Cortez Fuenzalida.

Positionally-speaking, centre backs are the most favoured choice with 26 of the 104 awards being given to those playing there, exactly one-quarter (25%).

And want to know what shirt to wear to be the best?

With eight awards each, shirts #1 and #23 are the most popular. So you can be like the semi-final goalkeeping trio of Laura Glauser (FRA), Sandra Toft (DEN) or Johanna Bundsen (SWE), who wear #1 or the legacy of basketball legend Michael Jordan and shirt #23, worn by another semi-finalist, Camilla Herrem (NOR).

hummel Player of the Match awards – Denmark/Norway/Sweden 2023
(Preliminary Round, Main Round, Quarter-Finals and President’s Cup – 104 games played)

Per Team

7 – Norway (NOR), Sweden (SWE)

6 – Denmark (DEN), Netherlands (NED)

5 – Czechia (CZE), Greenland (GRL), Iceland (ISL), Japan (JPN), Montenegro (MNE)

4 – Angola (ANG), Brazil (BRA), Chile (CHI), Romania (ROU), Senegal (SEN)

3 – Congo (CGO), Spain (ESP), Germany (GER), Hungary (HUN), Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI), Slovenia (SLO)

2 – Austria (AUT), Cameroon (CMR), France (FRA), Paraguay (PAR)

1 – Argentina (ARG), Croatia (CRO), Kazakhstan (KAZ), People’s Republic of China (CHN), Republic of Korea (KOR), Poland (POL), Ukraine (UKR)

0 – Serbia (SRB)

Per Confederation

African Handball Confederation (CAHB) – 13 awards

Asian Handball Federation (AHF) – 10

European Handball Federation (EHF) – 64

North America and the Caribbean Handball Confederation (NACHC) – 5

South and Central America Handball Confederation (SCAHC) – 12

Per Position

26 – Centre Back

24 – Goalkeeper

21 – Left Back

14 – Right Back

10 – Left Wing

5 – Right Wing

4 – Pivot/Line Player

Per Player

4 – Eliza Buceschi (ROU) – centre back, Madeleine Noelia Cortez Fuenzalida (CHI) - goalkeeper

3 – Fatemeh Merikh (IRI) – centre back, Ivalu Cecilie Bjerge (GRL) – left back, Marketa Jerabkova (CZE) – left back, Soukeina Sagna (SEN) – centre back

2 – Camilla Herrem (NOR) – left wing, Elin Rosa Magnusdottir (ISL) – centre back, Fanta Diagouraga (CGO) – centre back, Jamina Roberts (SWE) – left back, Johanna Bundsen (SWE) – goalkeeper, Katharina Filter (GER) – goalkeeper, Marta Batinovic (MNE) – goalkeeper, Yara Ten Holte (NED) - goalkeeper

Per Shirt Number

8 – #1, #23

7 – #13

6 – #7, #8

5 – #10, #12, #22

4 – #4, #42

3 – #7, #35, #38, #51

2 – #9, #14, #20, #21, #25, #32, #33, #43, #78, #91

Per Game

Round Group Player Country Position Shirt #
Preliminary Group C Woo Bitna KOR CB 22
Preliminary Group G Bruna Almeida De Paula BRA RB 2
Preliminary Group C Kristina Sirum Novak NOR RB 22
Preliminary Group G Maitane Echeverria Martinez ESP RW 18
Preliminary Group B Marta Batinovic MNE GK 43
Preliminary Group D Perla Ruth Albertsdottir ISL LW 8
Preliminary Group F Natsuki Aizawa JPN CB 23
Preliminary Group H Dione Housheer NED RB 48
Preliminary Group B Nikoletta Papp HUN RB 28
Preliminary Group D Azenaide Danila Jose Carlos ANG RB 35
Preliminary Group F Fatemeh Merikh IRI CB 4
Preliminary Group H Marketa Jerabkova CZE LB 51
Preliminary Group A Doungou Camara SEN RB 7
Preliminary Group C Josefine Jakobsgaard Gadgaard GRL RB 10
Preliminary Group E Eliza Buceschi ROU CB 7
Preliminary Group G Adriana Cardoso De Castro BRA RW 21
Preliminary Group A Sofia Hvenfelt SWE PV 35
Preliminary Group C Henny Reistad NOR CB 25
Preliminary Group E Emma Friis DEN LW 33
Preliminary Group G Mireya Gonzalez Alvarez ESP RB 99
Preliminary Group D Isabel Evelize Wangimba Guialo ANG CB 90
Preliminary Group H Veronika Malá CZE LW 67
Preliminary Group B Tanja Ivanovic MNE RB 24
Preliminary Group D Elin Jona Thorsteinsdottir ISL GK 1
Preliminary Group F Fatemeh Merikh IRI CB 4
Preliminary Group H Bo Van Wetering NED LW 12
Preliminary Group B Katrin Klujber HUN RB 42
Preliminary Group F Haruno Sasaki JPN LB 32
Preliminary Group A Tea Pijevic CRO GK 91
Preliminary Group G Milana Shukal UKR RW 32
Preliminary Group A Jamina Roberts SWE LB 8
Preliminary Group C Katarina Pandza AUT LB 3
Preliminary Group G Ana Paula Rodrigues Belo BRA CB 9
Preliminary Group E Eliza Buceschi ROU CB 7
Preliminary Group C Camilla Herrem NOR LW 23
Preliminary Group E Anna Kristensen DEN GK 12
Preliminary Group B Paola Ebanga CMR LB 19
Preliminary Group D Sandra Erlingsdottir ISL CB 21
Preliminary Group F Atsuko Baba JPN GK 12
Preliminary Group H Fanta Diagouraga CGO CB 78
Preliminary Group B Marta Batinovic MNE GK 43
Preliminary Group F Katharina Filter GER GK 42
Preliminary Group H Yara Ten Holte NED GK 38
Preliminary Group D Tjasa Stanko SLO LB 10
Preliminary Group A Soukeina Sagna SEN CB 13
Preliminary Group E Madeleine Noelia Cortez Fuenzalida CHI GK 23
Preliminary Group A Jenny Karlsson SWE CB 42
Preliminary Group E Kristina Jorgensen DEN RB 23
President's Cup Group II Fanta Diagouraga CGO CB 78
Main Round Group II Alja Varagic SLO RW 20
Main Round Group IV Marketa Jerabkova CZE LB 51
Main Round Group II Ines Ivancok AUT LB 29
Main Round Group IV Silvia Arderius Martin ESP CB 8
Main Round Group II Camilla Herrem NOR LW 23
Main Round Group IV Yara Ten Holte NED GK 38
President's Cup Group II Madeleine Noelia Cortez Fuenzalida CHI GK 23
Main Round Group I Matea Pletikosic MNE CB 10
Main Round Group III Karolina Kochaniak-Sala POL CB 49
President's Cup Group I Maria Fernandez Estigarribia PAR LB 14
Main Round Group I Soukeina Sagna SEN CB 13
Main Round Group III Katharina Filter GER GK 42
President's Cup Group I Ivaana Augusta Ottosen Holm GRL PV 26
Main Round Group I Tyra Axner SWE LB 54
Main Round Group III Sakura Kametani JPN GK 1
Main Round Group II Azenaide Carlos ANG RB 35
Main Round Group IV Gabriela Gonçalves Dias Moreschi BRA GK 1
Main Round Group II Chloe Valentini FRA LW 6
Main Round Group IV Petra Kudláčková CZE GK 33
Main Round Group II Stine Oftedal NOR CB 10
Main Round Group IV Lois Abbingh NED LB 8
President's Cup Group II Madeleine Noelia Cortez Fuenzalida CHI GK 23
Main Round Group I Ivona Pavicevic MNE LW 91
Main Round Group III Eliza Buceschi ROU CB 7
President's Cup Group II Rita Luana Saraiva CGO PV 61
Main Round Group I Laeticia Ateba CMR LB 7
Main Round Group III Emily Bölk GER LB 20
President's Cup Group I Fernanda Insfran Mora PAR RB 4
Main Round Group I Johanna Bundsen SWE GK 1
Main Round Group III Trine Østergaard Jensen DEN RW 25
President's Cup Group I Ivalu Cecilie Bjerge GRL LB 13
Main Round Group IV Marisol Carratu ARG GK 1
Main Round Group IV Marketa Jerabkova CZE LB 51
Main Round Group II Albertina Kassoma ANG PV 10
Main Round Group IV Zoë Sprengers NED LW 22
Main Round Group II Tamara Mavsar SLO LW 14
Main Round Group II Katrine Lunde NOR GK 16
President's Cup Group II Madeleine Noelia Cortez Fuenzalida CHI GK 23
Main Round Group I Soukeina Sagna SEN CB 13
Main Round Group III Kaho Nakayama JPN RB 13
President's Cup Group II Fatemeh Merikh IRI CB 4
Main Round Group I Petra Vamos HUN CB 38
Main Round Group III Eliza Buceschi ROU CB 7
President's Cup Group I Elín Rósa Magnúsdóttir ISL CB 22
Main Round Group I Jamina Roberts SWE LB 8
Main Round Group III Anne Mette Hansen DEN LB 8
President's Cup Group I Ivalu Cecilie Bjerge GRL LB 13
Quarter-Final   Laura Glauser FRA GK 1
Quarter-Final   Silje Solberg NOR GK 12
Placement Round 31/32 Ivalu Cecilie Bjerge GRL LB 13
Placement Round 29/30 Veronika Khardina KAZ LB 9
Quarter-Final   Johanna Bundsen SWE GK 1
Placement Round 27/28 Xiaoqing Li CHN LB 12
Quarter-Final   Sandra Toft DEN GK 1
Placement Round 25/26 Elín Rósa Magnúsdóttir ISL CB 22


*All information uses data supplied by national federations at their pre-championship technical meetings. In-depth statistics can be found on the IHF Denmark/Norway/Sweden 2023 mini-site here.