France clinched their third title at the IHF Women’s World Championship, with a sublime performance against reigning champions Norway, taking a 31:28 win, which saw them lift the trophy for the second time in the past four editions of the competition.

FINAL
France vs Norway 31:28 (20:17)

When two powerhouses collide, sparks are bound to fly around. This happened the four previous times when France and Norway met in the final of the IHF Women’s World Championship, but never has the final act of the world handball flagship competition finished with so many goals in regular time, nor has ever been such a fast-paced match.

But indeed, millions of fans over the world and the spectators which packed the Jyske Bank Boxen in Herning were in for a treat, as the two best teams in the world – the reigning Olympic champions and the reigning world champions – provided a vintage final, one which will be talked about for many more years to come.

It provided drama, twists and turns, superb performances, but only one winner. And it was France which won the title for the third time, after delivering an excellent performance, a worthy winner for a superb competition, as the 2023 IHF Women’s World Championship saw the largest number of spectators in the history of the competition.

But nothing was set in stone from the start, as Norway were slight favourites, despite conceding a 23:24 loss in the main round against France, with the reigning world champions having previously won three of the four finals against “Les Bleuses”. But like in the previous edition, at Spain 2021, France were the ones to lead at the break, 20:17, after an outstanding attacking performance.

An 80% shooting efficiency was enough to propel France to 20 goals, the first time when a team scored so many goals in the first half of a final, but Norway were no pushovers and even took a two-goal lead after 12 minutes, 9:7, after Henny Reistad and Stine Bredal Oftedal each scored three goals.

The pace was otherworldly, with fast throw-offs being the norm, as both sides tried to finish the attacks as fast as possible, with the average time per attack being 31 seconds for both France and Norway. But France had the better depth, with 10 different players getting on the scoresheet, as Tamara Horacek led the pack with four goals.

However, the second half saw a change in the match, with the goalkeepers starting to save more shots, as Katrine Lunde and Hatadou Sako entered the fray. Lunde had eight saves for a 42% saving efficiency until the 48th minute, but France were still in the lead, 26:24, yet the gap was starting to be slimmer and slimmer, after they led by as many as four goals.

So this was always going to be about Norway’s capacity to come back into the match, as proved in the 2021 IHF Women’s World Championship final, in the EHF EURO 2022 final and also in the semi-final against Denmark, when Thorir Hergeirsson’s side bounced back after erasing lofty leads.

Yet the comeback failed to materalise. First, France already knew what to expect, after they lost the title two years ago after a nearly flawless second half from Norway. But that time around, the Scandinavian side completed it after an excellent attacking performance. This time around, there was no urgency, there were too many mistakes and sloppy plays, which hampered any chance for Norway.

Two consecutive turnovers saw France take advantage on the fast break and create a 29:25 lead with seven minutes to go, prompting a team time-out from Hergeirsson. This managed to cut down the gap to two goals, but once again, it was centre back Lena Grandveau, France’s 20-year-old star in the making, who broke through, scored a decisive goal and applied more pressure on Norway, 30:27.

There was nothing more what Norway could do, as Grandveau scored another goal to set the final score, 31:28, as France were left stunned by their display, finishing the IHF Women’s World Championship with nine wins in nine matches.

France have now tied the Soviet Union and Germany as the teams with three world titles, while coach Olivier Krumbholz bowed out on a high, winning his seventh medal – third gold one – at his last edition of the IHF Women’s World Championship.

On the other hand, Norway lost their fifth final in history, staying with four titles, five silver medals and three bronze medal, still as the most decorated team at the IHF Women’s World Championship.