In the opening match of the 25th IHF Women's World Championship, the event hosts will take on an opponent from South America in Torrevieja. 

Spain vs Argentina 20:30 CET

Before the game, an opening ceremony will take place, starting at 19:00, with welcoming speeches to be delivered by IHF President Dr Hassan Moustafa and the President of the Royal Spanish Handball Federation Dr Francisco Vidal Blazquez Garcia.

For the first time in history, the IHF Women's World Championship is being held in Spain, and the home team enter the event with the hopes of going far. This is the eighth straight participation for ‘Las Guerreras’ in the competition, and in 2019, they achieved their best result ever by claiming silver.

Last week, the team coached by Jose Ignacio Prades won a friendly tournament in Madrid, beating Slovakia, Poland and Germany, and they start the World Championship as strong favourites of Group H.

Their first rivals will be Argentina, and it will be their fifth meeting in a competitive match in history. Notably, all four previous encounters were won by the Spanish team, including two games at the World Championships: 33:15 at China 2009 and 25:19 at Serbia 2013.

Similar to Spain, the South American side enjoyed their best-ever Women’s World Championship result at Japan 2019, finishing 16th. Now, Eduardo Gallardo's team hope to make another step forward, and progressing to the main round is their primary goal.

As many as six players from the Argentine squad play their club handball in Spain, and while the South Americans are considered as underdogs in the opening match, they are determined to battle hard against the host nation.