It was an all-in match for both sides, as a win could have brought Spain a quarter-final spot, while for Czechia it meant keeping the dream of a spot among the top eight teams alive. With an uncanny performance from Petra Kudláčková's, Czechia claimed a strong 30:22 win against Spain, leaving everything open in the Main Round Group IV and ending the perfect streak for "Las Guerreras"

Main Round, Group IV
Czechia vs Spain 30:22 (13:9)

Petra Kudláčková left Spain speechless at the start of the game, having an incredible ten saves at 53 per cent efficiency at the end of the first half. Yet, her dominating performance was not used to its full potential at the start of the game, when she saved five shots, with Czechia's biggest gap being two goals. But after some saves from Darly Zoqbi de Paula, Spain tied the score, 5:5.

From that moment on, the two sides traded goals, but with Czechia dictating the tempo, as Spain could not take the lead. And everything broke loose for "Las Guerreras" in the dying minutes of the first half, when they failed to score in the last seven minutes until a penalty in the last second, with Czechia taking a 13:9 lead at the break.

In all four matches played at Denmark/Norway/Sweden 2023 Spain stepped up a gear in the second half after a slow start in the first half. However, this time around it was not the case and in the 36th minute, Czechia opened a seven-goal lead, after we saw two new Kudláčková saves.

Just four minutes later, Czechia for a moment looked like they are out of fuel and Spain used it for a 5:0 unanswered run, narrowing the gap to 15:19 on the wings of Paulina Perez Buforn. The Spanish head coach Ambros Martin tried to further shake things up with the a more aggresive defence, but Bent Dahl's players sneaked behind their opponent's back and restored their biggest lead.

With chances slim to none, Spain could only accept their first defeat at Denmark/Norway/Sweden 2023 as only four players managed to score three goals or more with an overall shooting efficiency of 48%. Petra 'The Wall' Kudláčková had a total of 18 saves at 46% save efficiency, while Marketa Jerabkova, Charlotte Cholevová and Veronika Malá netted 24 goals out of Czechia's 30.

The trio is also in the top 10 for goals scored throughout the competition, with Jerabkova leading the pack, with 35 goals, while Malá and Cholevová are third and fourth, with 31 goals.

In the last match of the Main Round, Czechia can book their second-ever quarter-final ticket if they beat Brazil. Spain face the Netherlands and their progression is now under serious question, with everything still to play on Sunday in Arena Nord in Frederikshavn.

hummel Players of the Match: Petra Kudláčková (Czechia)