The first day of the 2024 IHF Women’s Youth World Championship continued on Wednesday with three other matches, where the three European sides involved delivered big wins, with France scoring 50 goals against India and Germany putting 42 goals past Guinea.

GROUP B

• Montenegro vs Angola 26:16 (14:10)

GROUP D

• France vs India 50:14 (28:7)

GROUP H

• Germany vs Guinea 42:18 (22:9)

What happened: France did not beat their record for the largest win in history at the  IHF Women’s Youth World Championship – 48:3 against Hong Kong in 2008 – but they delivered an almost pitch perfect performance against India, taking a clear 50:14 win, beating their record of number of goals scored in a single match.

15 of their 16 outfield players scored at leasto one goal, with Julilove Andon leading the way with eight goals, while Blandine Gros, Dawiya Abdou and Liyah Naal scored six goals each to propel France to a clear 50:14 win and a 79% shooting efficiency, with 18 goals coming from fast breaks.

Germany also delivered a fantastic performance against Guinea, 42:18, revving up their engines before the next matches, as Marlene Tucholke scoring nine goals and Aylin Bornhardt added eight goals. While in defence, Germany could not stop Guinea’s shots, the African side conceded 35 turnovers, with their opponents converting all the ensuing 11 fast breaks they had.

The most balanced match was the one between Montenegro and Angola, with the African side making it just for one half, keeping close to the European side, 14:10. The second half was controlled by Montenegro, which jumped to a 26:16 win, limiting Angola to only six goals scored in 30 minutes. Angola also were turnover prone, with 25 balls lost, as it looks like Montenegro and Croatia are headed for the main round, while the two African sides, Angola and Nigeria, will head to the President’s Cup. 

Stat of the day: 50 goals – the largest number scored by France in their history at the IHF Women’s Youth World Championship, beating their previous record set against Kazakhstan, 49, in 2010. In total, France had previously scored over 40 goals six times in the competition

What’s next: Eight matches to go in the first day of the 2024 IHF Women’s Youth World Championship. It is becoming apparent that the European powerhouses are heading to the main round, especially after these big wins, with France and Germany proving their mettle. The former side, however, has matches against Czechia and Iceland, which will prove tougher than this one against Guinea.