Bouncing back from the two losses in the first two matches at Germany/Netherlands 2025, Japan secured their main round spot, with a clear XX:XX win over Croatia, dominating the European side in the second half.

GROUP A
Japan vs Croatia 25:19 (10:10)

It was a do-or-die match for both teams, with a main round spot on the line, and Croatia needed only a draw to progress to the next phase of the competition, with both teams sure to start the next phase with zero points.

And, of course, with everything on the line, both teams looked fully focused and engaged in a tough defensive battle, constantly forcing turnovers from each other. While Croatia had less turnovers, they also had a lower shooting efficiency. Therefore, the battle went until the end, toe-to-toe.

Croatia drew first blood, with a 3:0 unanswered run prompted by their backs, Tina Barišić and Dejana Milosavljević, but Japan quickly bounced back, expertly piloted by centre back Natsuki Aizawa, who dictated the rhythm of play.

With four lead changes in the first half, none of the teams managed to open a gap larger than two goals, but after 30 minutes, Croatia and Japan were in a deadlock, 10:10, with everything still to be played for and the team joining Denmark and Romania in the main round decided at the end of the match.

The pivotal run from Japan came in the start of the second half, when they used a 5:1 run to open their maiden four-goal lead, with two goals scored by Aizawa and some fantastic saves from goalkeeper Sakura Kametani, whose saving percentage floated around 50% until the 50th minute.

With Japan opening up a 15:11 lead, it was still anybody’s match, with Croatia being forced to play from behind throughout the whole second half, which, for a young and inexperienced team really took its toll.

No matter how hard they tried, Croatia could simply not find the path towards the goal as easy as Japan, with Aizawa totally outplaying Croatia’s defence, as the centre back and line player Claire Francis Gray combined for 13 goals, to lift Japan to a 25:19 win. The hummel Player of the Match, Sakura Kametani, also finished the match with 15 saves, for an outstanding 47% saving efficiency.

Japan made their fifth main round in a row at the IHF Women’s World Championship, while Croatia are now heading to the President’s Cup, with three losses in three matches seeing them out of the top-24 in this competition.

This will be the worst finish in Croatia’s history, with their current record being the 18th place, at Spain 2021, when they won only two matches.

hummel Player of the Match: Sakura Kametani (Japan)