The 2026 IHF Women's Youth World Championship started with a bang, as Egypt beat Croatia, 27:24, in a tough encounter, which saw the African side provide an excellent performance throughout the match.

Hungary and Spain each secured double-digit wins against Tunisia and Guinea respectively, while European champions Slovakia thoroughly beat Brazil, 32:25.

Group A
Croatia vs Egypt 24:27 (13:13)

The W17 EHF EURO runners-up Croatia arrived at the 2026 IHF Women's Youth World Championship with high expectations, but right from the start, the 2025 African Women's Youth Handball Championship winners Egypt proved to be a tough nut to crack.

That was the story for most of the first 30 minutes, with the teams trading goals throughout and neither able to establish a meaningful advantage. Nothing could separate the two sides, and the opening half fittingly ended in a 13:13 deadlock.

Egypt were the first to break that pattern, producing a strong defensive spell which opened the door for several fast breaks and a three-goal lead (10:7) in the 23rd minute. Croatia head coach Ivan Jerković reacted with a team time-out, asking his players for more aggression, and the response was immediate as Croatia quickly closed the gap.

However, Croatia's hasty attacks continued in the second half, while their defence could not find the right momentum and their goalkeepers also had a difficult day between the posts. As a consequence, Egypt produced another goal run to restore their three-goal lead (17:14) and managed to keep Croatia at a distance.

While Antea Jerković remained Croatia's main attacking force, Egypt relied heavily on Jowaireya Abdallah, who delivered a flawless performance with eight goals from eight shots on her way to the Player of the Match award.

In the 54th minute, Egypt opened their biggest lead of the match at 25:20 and, despite Croatia's late efforts to close the gap, held on to celebrate their opening win at Romania 2026, which was also only their second-ever victory against Croatia.

In the next round, Croatia will try to bounce back against competition debutants the Republic of Fiji, while Egypt take on France.

Player of the Match: Jowaireya Abdallah (Egypt)

Group C
Spain vs Guinea 27:12 (14:2)

The reigning champions Spain did not face much resistance at the start of the 2026 IHF Women's Youth World Championship. From the first whistle, they were the dominant side against Guinea, the bronze medallists at the 2025 African Women's Youth Handball Championship.

Spain opened the match with five unanswered goals, while Guinea had to wait 10 minutes to score their first. Interestingly, their second and final goal of the opening half arrived only a minute later, as Fatoumata Naby Soumah and N'nady Sylla were the only players able to find a way through the Spanish defence.

Guinea's tally of only two goals in the opening 30 minutes matched the second lowest-scoring first half in IHF Women's Youth World Championship history, after Kazakhstan also scored only twice in a half in 2024.

Spain had little trouble steadily adding to their tally, even without reaching their highest level. June Aguinagalde Viguria led the attack, while goalkeeper Rebeca Secades Catalá had a quiet but efficient half, saving five of the seven shots she faced.

Not much changed after the break in terms of the outcome, as Spain comfortably protected their lead. The main difference was Guinea playing with more freedom in attack, which resulted in 10 second-half goals after scoring only twice before the break.

The closest they came was at 21:10 through Fatoumata Naby Soumah, who was also Guinea's top scorer with seven goals. However, 24 turnovers hampered any hopes of significantly reducing the deficit. On the other hand, Spain were able to give chances to all players, with 11 of their 14 outfield players finding the net at least once, sealing an opening win at the World Championship.

Spain will face Uzbekistan in the next round, while Guinea take on another European opponent, Germany.

Player of the Match: June Aguinagalde Viguria (Spain)

Group E
Hungary vs Tunisia (16:12)

Just like one month ago at the 2026 IHF Women’s Junior World Championship, Hungary faced Tunisia in their opener and once again, the match was far from a walk in the park for the European side.

Tunisia’s goalkeeper Loujain Romene made some key saves in the first half – seven by the end of the first 30 minutes – to keep her team close, but the show was stolen by right back Ons Slama, who scored six goals.

Therefore, Tunisia managed to stay close throughout the first half, as Hungary could not break away, despite centre back Blanka Szigeti providing six goals for a 100% shooting efficiency.

The key difference was Hungary’s depth, which worked wonders for the European side in the second half, as they started to pull away, being fresher and building a stronger defence.

Over 20 turnovers for Tunisia helped Hungary improve from the four-goal lead at the break, 16:12, to ten goals, 33:23, after 49 minutes, with Szigeti scoring at free will, ending the match with 11 goals.

Eventually, Hungary took a clear 40:29 win, as Tunisia’s defence simply could not hold their opponents at bay in the second half, conceding 24 goals.

Player of the Match: Blanka Szigeti (Hungary)

Group G
Slovakia vs Brazil 32:25 (17:15)

The W17 EHF EURO 2025 winners Slovakia opened Romania 2026 with a victory, making a step towards the main round. In Râmnicu Vâlcea, the only European team in Group G was dominant throughout the match against Brazil and secured a well-deserved win.

Liliana Gogova and Barbora Karkušová finished the game with seven goals each, and Kristina Sekáčová added six more. Gogova's four goals in seven opening minutes helped Slovakia open up a 5:3 lead. A bit later, Karkušová and Lucia Valientová also stepped up, and their goals saw the European team increase the gap to 10:5.

However, Brazil gradually improved their attack and put some pressure on their rivals. Although Slovakia led 14:10 with seven minutes to go in the first half, Brazil's 5:3 run before the break — spurred by Ana Santos De Paula's string of goals — offered them a lifeline.

Sekáčová stepped up for Slovakia after the restart, handing them a six-goal lead, 23:17, 10 minutes into the second half. Brazil refused to give up and slightly cut the gap, but their shot efficiency dropped to 50% in the second half. When Slovakia then used a 4:0 run to take a 30:22 lead with five minutes to go, the outcome was clear.

Player of the Match: Barbora Karkušová (Slovakia)