The 2026 IHF Women's Junior World Championship in Jinzhong, People's Republic of China, is about to reach crunch time in the next few days. Only eight teams remain in contention for the title, and the quarter-final matches on Thursday, 2 July, will further reduce this number by half.

The tournament is not over for the other 24 teams, either, as they will play the placement matches in order to finish as high as possible.

Quarter-finals
16:00 CST — Denmark v Serbia
16:00 CST — France v Montenegro
18:30 CST — Japan v Spain
18:30 CST — Germany v Norway

Placement Matches 9-12
11:30 CST — Sweden v Czechia
13:45 CST — Romania v Poland

Placement Matches 13-16
11:30 CST — Republic of Korea v Hungary
13:45 CST — Austria v People's Republic of China

Placement Matches 17-20
16:15 CST — Egypt v Iceland
18:30 CST — Brazil v Croatia

Placement Matches 21-24
11:45 CST — Angola v Algeria
14:00 CST — Argentina v Faroe Islands

Placement Matches 25-28
16:15 CST — Paraguay v Guinea
18:30 CST — Türkiye v Tunisia

Placement Matches 29-32
11:45 CST — India v United States of America
14:00 CST — Canada v Chinese Taipei

Denmark v Serbia – 16:00 CST

Denmark, who are reaching the IHF Women's Junior World Championship quarter-finals for the sixth straight time, hope to further extend their unbeaten run at the current tournament. So far, the Scandinavian team won four games before sharing the points, 32:32, in a dramatic main round encounter with Montenegro, progressing to the top eight thanks to a better goal difference.

With 185 goals, Denmark boast the second most efficient attack at the tournament after Germany, who have six goals more. Their leader Kirstine Emilie Hoppe continues to top the scoring chart, now with 45 goals. She was Denmark's top scorer in four straight matches and then netted five times against Montenegro, one fewer than teammates Isabella Jensen and Cecilie Norskov.

Serbia have no representatives in the top 30 of the scoring chart, as their top scorer Milica Otašević ranks just 32nd in that list with 21 goals. However, the Balkan side started the tournament with four consecutive wins and secured an early quarter-final spot before losing 19:31 to France in their last main round game.

Last year, Denmark won bronze at the W19 EHF EURO 2025, while Serbia finished 12th, and now the Nordic team are seen as favourites — but the Serbs are looking to cause an upset.

France v Montenegro – 16:00 CST

Defending champions France are one of two teams alongside Germany to boast a 100% record at China 2026, having won all five of their games so far. After beating Sweden, India and Egypt at the group stage, they went on to defeat Austria, 29:23, and Serbia, 31:19, in the main round.

With just 99 conceded goals, France rely on the most efficient defence at the competition, and their goalkeeper Léane Gonzalez boasts a 45% save rate. In attack, the team has impressed a little less, with their 153 goals in five matches ranking eighth among all participating teams, but it has been enough to claim five wins from five matches.

Montenegro were also close to a 100% record, but their last main round match against Denmark ended in a draw after the Balkan side conceded a goal with 11 seconds to go and then failed to score in their final attack. With a win in that match, they would have finished top of Main Round Group III, but ultimately they became runners-up.

In any case, Montenegro secured their first top-eight finish at the IHF Women's Junior World Championship since 2010, and their third-best attack in the competition, with 181 goals to their name, is expected to challenge the rock-solid French defence.

Japan v Spain – 18:30 CST

Japan, the only non-European team to reach the quarter-finals, are already certain to at least emulate their best-ever result at the IHF Women's Junior World Championship, which is eighth place at Ivory Coast 1997. However, the Asian side hope to write history and finish even higher, playing the current tournament on their own continent.

After two early wins at China 2026, Japan slowed down to suffer two straight defeats against Croatia and Hungary. However, they responded well in a crucial main round encounter against Poland, as a 22:18 win in a low-scoring game saw them progress to the quarter-finals.

With 128 goals in five matches, Japan rank just 19th among all teams' attacks at the tournament — the lowest of any quarter-finalist. Spain, in turn, rank seventh in that list with 154 goals. After starting China 2026 with four straight wins, Spain narrowly lost to Germany on Tuesday, 28:29, finishing runners-up in Main Round Group II.

Spain have never been on the podium of the IHF Women's Junior World Championship and are reaching the quarter-finals for the first time since 2008. After winning silver at the W19 EHF EURO 2025, this generation of Spanish players is determined to go far again, but to reach the semi-finals, they must first overcome Japan — which is quite a challenging task.

Germany v Norway – 18:30 CST

Germany, the reigning W19 EHF EURO champions, were expected to go far at China 2026, and they have lived up to expectations so far, winning all five of their matches. Their last main round encounter with Spain was by far the hardest, but thanks to Chiara Rohr's last-gasp goal, the Germans extended their perfect run.

A free-flowing attack appears to be Germany's biggest weapon, as they have scored more than any other team at the tournament — 191 goals in five games, an average of 38.2 per match. Chiara Rohr, their leading scorer, takes eighth place overall in the tournament's scoring chart with a tally of 32 goals, while Aylin Bornhardt and Farrelle Njinkeu have 24 and 23 goals respectively.

Norway, in turn, are the only team to reach the quarter-finals after finishing second in their group at the opening stage. However, they did well in the main round, beating Poland 29:23 and Hungary 30:27, with Ada Aalstad making a special impact in the latter game with her 12 goals.

Overall, Aalstad has scored 30 goals at the competition, and she may pose a particular threat for Germany in the quarter-final. Norway, who won the IHF Women's Junior World Championship as recently as 2022, will be fighting hard for a semi-final spot.