Seen as strong favourites in their opening match against Paraguay, Hungary dominated throughout the 60 minutes and cruised to a well-deserved victory to open their account at Denmark/Norway/Sweden 2023.

Group B
Hungary vs Paraguay 35:12 (15:6)

So far, there have been no surprises in Group A – with both European sides, Hungary and Montenegro, leading with two points after the first round, while Cameroon and Paraguay are yet to claim their maiden points, after the losses suffered on Thursday.

While 25 goals scored had been more than enough for Montenegro to beat Cameroon a few hours earlier, Hungary were more prolific in attack, ending up with 35 goals. As Vladimir Golovin rotated his squad, 11 their players netted at least once, with Katrin Kluiber and Nadine Szöllősi-Schatzl becoming joint top scorers with five goals each.

Notably, Hungary netted 11 times from fast breaks, taking advantage of the South American team's mistakes. And Blanka Böde-Bíró made sure that the Europeans conceded just 12 goals, six in each half, as she boasted 10 saves and a 45 % save rate. 

Paraguay scored four times in the opening 14 minutes, and as Hungary led 6:4, it seemed like the South Americans had a chance to stay in the match. Yet Biro shut up shop, and Golovin's team did not concede any goals in the next 12 minutes, so a 6:0 run lifted them to a 12:4 commanding lead, as this was the crucial moment of the match. 

Szöllősi-Schatzl, who scored all her five goals before the break, was especially hard to hold back, and Paraguay's Ada Miskinic Lugo received a red card for a foul on the Hungarian shortly before the break. Besides, two South American players went off injured, and with a weakened squad, Peaguay were unable to resist in the second half, allowing their opponents to make a step towards the main round. 

hummel Player of the Match: Nikoletta Papp, Hungary