The preliminary round at the inaugural 2026 IHF Women’s Under-16 World Championship concludes on Tuesday, 20 October, when the 16 participating teams take the court in Agadir, Morocco, once again.

The four semi-finalists will be decided as the matches conclude, with four sides already in pole-position.

Group A
14:00 GMT – United States of America vs Kazakhstan
18:30 GMT – People’s Republic of China vs Morocco

Group B
14:00 GMT - Guinea vs Belarus
18:30 GMT - Hungary vs Paraguay

Group C
11:45 GMT - Mexico vs Tunisia
16:15 GMT - Germany vs Uzbekistan

Group D
11:45 GMT - Switzerland vs Russia
16:15 GMT - Argentina vs Egypt

• Four sides – People’s Republic of China, Hungary, Germany and Russia – have won their first two matches and are virtually through to the semi-finals, by winning the groups they are part of
   
• China can afford a 13-goal loss against Morocco, if Kazakhstan beat the USA, or a draw if Kazakhstan do not win against the USA
   
• In Group B, Hungary can afford an eight-goal loss against Paraguay, if Belarus beat Guinea, while in Group C, Germany can lose by seven goals against Uzbekistan, provided Tunisia beat Mexico
   
• Russia can also afford a seven-goal loss against Switzerland and still proceed if Egypt beat Argentina
   
• China (104 goals), Germany (91 goals) and Russia (82 goals) are the best scoring teams in the competition, while China (32 conceded goals) and Germany (38 goals) also have the best defences
   
• China’s Meishan Du is the top scorer of the competition, with 27 goals and a remarkable 77% shooting efficiency, followed by Kazakhstan’s Nurdana Kyrgyzbay (20 goals) and Uzbekistan’s Fazilat Imomova with 18 goals
   
• Uzbekistan’s Zilola Usmonova and Paraguay’s Alejandra Lucia Caceres Niro have the largest number of saves – 27 – but China’s Na Wu has the best saving efficiency, 68.7%, after the first two matches