With Japan, Montenegro and Brazil, three teams fought for the last two spots eighth-final spots. In the opening match of the last day Japan took a clear win against Tunisia (31:13). The Japanese victory put Brazil under pressure in their encounter against Montenegro. While Montenegro just needed a draw to advance to the eighth-finals, Brazil needed a win. In a thrilling match with two equal sides a draw (23:23) was enough for Montenegro.

The last clash of the fifth day foresaw the battle of the top position in Group C between Russia and Denmark. While it looked like a level match in the first half, Russia decided the match in the second half (32:27), remaining unbeaten and finishing on top of their group.

 

Japan vs Tunisia 31:13 (15:6)

When the whistle for the opening match blew, Japan once more proved to be a strong and fast team at Germany 2017. They took an early lead but Tunisia came back, reducing the gap to one goal after 20 minutes (7:6). But this goal was also their last in the first half, while Japan put eight more on top, having a comfortable and decisive lead at the break.

The Japan side continued where they stopped. With Player of the Match Sakura Kametani they also had an excellent goalkeeper acting behind the defence (58% saving rate). As the team from coach Ulrik Kirkely booked one of the last two coveted eight-final tickets, Tunisia were left with zero points and they even paid a bigger price when Mouna Chebbah (adductor problems) and Senda Chekir (cruciate ligament) both left the court injured.

“Before we went to the World Championship, a lot of people said to us that we will play in a tough and good group. But the whole team believed that if we show what kind of handball we can play, we can make it to the round of 16. And now were in it and we’re very happy,” said Yui Sunami after their last group match and coach Kirkely added: “Maybe this sounds a little bit boring but we really haven’t talked about the upcoming matches. We put our focus always on the next game. There will be very strong teams waiting for us, so let’s see, what we get.”

 

Brazil vs Montenegro 23:23 (13:12)

Another ‘do or die’ match in Oldenburg took place when Brazil and Montenegro locked horns in the early evening. The encounter was characterised by two strong defences and an ever-changing lead throughout the whole match. Although a hattrick from Montenegrin Tatjana Brnovic brought the team from Per Johansson in front, the Brazil side was able to take the lead back at half-time.

The spectators in Oldenburg saw a second half with two level teams fighting for the win. Like in the first half no team were able to take more than a one-goal lead. In the end Eduarda Taleska, who was awarded Player of the Match, and her team had the chance to score the winning goal. However, the Brazil side stood shocked on the court and it was Montenegro who celebrated the draw and the last ticket to the round of 16.

“We knew that Brazil would put everything they have into this match. We were two equal teams and we were just lucky in the end,” commented Montenegrin coach Per Johansson the draw and goalkeeper Marina Rajcic said: “We are used to play under pressure and I think we deserved the draw. We fought until the end and we believed in it. I’m really happy that we could take the last spot.”

On the Brazil side the disappointment was huge: “It’s a difficult situation right now. We are very sad. We wanted the win so much, we trained so hard and sacrificed so much. But our coach Jorge Duenas says that this competition is too long to keep on being disappointed. So we try to focus on the next match in the President’s Cup.”

 

Denmark vs Russia 27:32 (11:12)

The very last encounter in Oldenburg was opened by a goal from Danish team captain Stine Jørgensen. But Russia did not wait long to take back control of the match. While the reigning Olympic Champions had a good defence and speedy attack, Denmark missed too many of their chances. They waited nine minutes to finally score their third goal, but then fought their way back into the game. Now the Russia side faced an almost ten-minute drought but took an one-goal advantage at half-time.

In front of 4,021 spectators Russia pulled away in the second half. Although Denmark tried to bounce back, reducing the gap to 20:23, the team around Player of the Match Daria Dmitrieva scored three more goals within a few minutes to a decisive 27:20 lead twelve minutes before the end.

“I think the main reason of our defeat today was that we made too many technical mistakes. We played against a very strong Russian team. They played very aggressive in defence and performed very strong one against one,” said Denmark coach Klavs Bruun Jørgensen. The Danes will now face hosts Germany in the eighth-finals: “We have seen some of Germany’s matches and we could see how great the atmosphere was at their games so it will be great to play in front of that crowd. Right now we will focus on ourselves and recover, so that we are ready to put on a good fight,” commented Lotte Grigel the upcoming clash against Germany.

Russian coach Evgeny Trefilov is also already thinking about the eighth-finals: “Today we were prepared for a tough match and we took five victories out of five matches. It was not easy, but the outcome is of course good and now we will prepare for the Republic of Korea.”