Fifth France vs Norway final to bring vintage end for the 2023 IHF Women's World Championship
16 Dec. 2023
France and Norway are the finalists of the 2023 IHF Women’s World Championship and anything but the title will be considered a failure, as the two powerhouses lock horns for the third final in the last four editions of the competition and for the fifth time ever, in what will surely be a vintage match in the Jyske Bank Boxen in Herning.
Earlier, Sweden and Denmark will fight out for the bronze medal, while two other Placement Matches are scheduled, as the curtain closes on the 26th edition of the world handball flagship competition.
FINAL
19:00 CET France vs Norway
When France took a 24:23 win against Norway in the final match of the main round in Trondheim, it looked like the two sides had that special something which could help them rekindle their rivalry in the final at Denmark/Norway/Sweden 2023.
For the fourth time in the last nine editions of the IHF Women’s World Championship, two teams which faced off in the preliminary round and the main round will face in the final, coincidentally this being the fifth time when France and Norway meet in the last act of the world handball flagship competition.
This France vs Norway clash has all the makings of a true classic, as the two sides have faced off in the final of the IHF Women’s World Championship four times so far, with this fifth encounter making this the team pairing which met the most times in the last act of the competition.
Moreover, France and Norway have also met in the final of the EHF EURO 2020, when Norway also took the gold medal, while this is the third time in the last four editions of the IHF Women’s World Championship when the two sides lock horns, an unprecedented feature so far in the previous 26 editions.
“The fact that we are in the final shows that the France has started to win again, but the appetite comes with eating. This final is the culmination of the work carried out since the start of the preparation, during which we had a lot of problems. But we are happy to play Norway again,” said France’s coach, Olivier Krumbholz.
Coincidentally, all of France’s six medals – two gold and four silver medals – at the IHF Women’s World Championship have come with Krumbholz on the bench and this will be the seventh and final last act for the 65-year-old coach, who will retire after the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
On the other hand, Norway are the most decorated team in the history of the IHF Women’s World Championship and will be featuring for the ninth time in the final, having won four and lost four so far. They will also become the first-ever team to win the title five times provided they beat France here, an outstanding feature, considering they also have the largest number of medals, 11, and have never finished outside of the top-10.
While France are eager to bring back their usual team spirit, Norway have delivered one of the all-time performances in the semi-final against Denmark, won in extra-time, 29:28, after left back Henny Reistad scored 15 goals out of 17 shots, including all of Norway’s six goals in extra-time.
Reistad is second in the top goal scorer standings so far at Denmark/Norway/Sweden 2023, with 47 goals, while France have a more balanced sheet so far, as their top scorer, Chloe Valentini, has 34 goals and ranks 22nd so far in the top goal scorer standings.
Yet France have scored only 15 goals less than Norway – an average of 1.8 goals less on match – matching even the top attack in the competition.
Before the mutual match in Trondheim, Norway had won three on the trot against France, including the finals of the 2021 IHF Women’s World Championship and the EHF EURO 2020 final, as well as the EHF EURO 2022 semi-final, yet France now know that they can win against the most decorated team in the history of women’s handball.
BRONZE MEDAL MATCH
16:00 CET Sweden vs Denmark
The disappointment was huge for co-hosts Denmark, as they lost the chance to clinch the world title on their home court, in the Jyske Bank Boxen in Herning, after conceding a 28:29 extra-time loss against Norway in the first semi-final, after they led by as many as six goals in the first half.
“It would have been a performance which could have changed our careers,” said goalkeeper Sandra Toft after the match, as Denmark have to bounce back after a dramatic loss, where they were dominated by a flawless Henny Reistad, who scored 15 goals for Norway.
However, Denmark will not be able to count on line player Kathrine Heindahl, who had a superb performance on both sides of the ball so far at the IHF Women’s World Championship, as she suffered a knee injury in the second half of the semi-final, and will now be out for at least three months.
Still, Denmark have one of the best teams in terms of depth in the competition and they will come out swinging in the bronze medal match. So far, the co-hosts have played six bronze medal matches, winning three and losing three.
It is a better record than Sweden, which have played only one bronze medal match, at Germany 2017, when they lost against the Netherlands, 21:24. However, Tomas Axner’s side will aim to still win their first-ever medal in the world handball flagship competition, as Sweden’s coach will face Jesper Jensen, the coach whom he will replace at club level at Team Esbjerg from the next summer.
“We need to forget the loss against France in the semi-finals and believe in ourselves to win the first medal for Sweden. We hope we will get the much-needed support,” said Sweden’s captain, Jamina Roberts.
Denmark won four of the last five mutual meetings, but Sweden won the last time the two Scandinavian powerhouses faced off at the IHF Women’s World Championship, 26:23, in the quarter-finals at Germany 2017.
PLACEMENT MATCH 5/6
13:00 CET Germany vs Netherlands
Germany have ensured their best finish at the IHF Women’s World Championship since placing third at France 2007 and will definitely try to finish on a high, as this generation continues to be consistent, finishing in the top-10 in every major competition they enter.
The Netherlands have dropped a single match so far at Denmark/Norway/Sweden 2023, the quarter-final against Norway, 23:30, but it was enough to derail their challenge for a medal, and will now settle for a place between the top six sides, as they have already progressed from Spain 2021, when they ended up on the ninth position.
The Dutch side will be missing Estavana Polman, as the influential centre back was replaced by the MVP and the top goal scorer of the 2022 IHF Women’s Junior World Championship, Catherina Molenaar, who will make her debut at the world handball flagship competition in the senior category.
In the past five mutual matches, the Netherlands have won three and lost two, including their last match against Germany at the IHF Women’s World Championship, 23:25, when they secured their maiden world title.
PLACEMENT MATCH 7/8
10:15 CET Czechia vs Montenegro
Both sides are entering the match with three-game losing streaks, as they have lost their last matches in the main round and their next two in the final weekend in Herning, but are still aiming to excite in the last match at the 2023 IHF Women’s World Championship.
Marketa Jerabkova will likely be the new top goal scorer of the world handball flagship competition, as she holds the first place in the standings, with 58 goals, 11 more than Henny Reistad and Eliza Buceschi, a superb performance for the Czechia left back, who has been nothing short of superb in the competition.
Yet Czechia, who need a win to seal their best-ever performance in the competition, will face a strong Montenegro side, which has fought until the end in every match so far, including in the quarter-final against Denmark, where they conceded a 24:26 loss.
Montenegro also have one of the best defences in the competition, conceding only 23.1 goals so far, but will face a side which places three players in the top 10 in the goal scorer standings – Jerabkova, fifth-placed Veronika Malá (43 goals) and the tenth best scorer at Denmark/Norway/Sweden 2023, Charlotte Cholevová, with 41 goals.