Japan came close to their third straight win, which would have kept them in the quarter-final race, but Hungary mounted a late comeback to steal a 26:26 draw, and with it, book their ticket to the top eight.

Main Round, Group I
Japan vs Hungary 26:26 (7:8)

The second match of the day in the Ahoy Arena opened just like the earlier clash between Romania and Senegal: slow, tense, and with the nets untouched for far too long. It took five minutes before the first goal finally arrived, courtesy of Japan. Hungary’s defence looked nothing like its usual self, full of gaps that Japan easily exploited with breakthroughs, while on the other side, Japan’s defence moved sharply and shut down every Hungarian attempt to score.

Even when Hungary managed to create shooting opportunities, bad passes and simple errors got in the way. Their first goal didn’t come until the eighth minute, when Petra Vámos finally broke through. Still, Japan held the lead until the 11th minute, when Hungary finally levelled the score at 4:4.

You would think that things would start shifting after that, but by the 21st minute the scoreboard still showed only 5:5. The reason was simple: two outstanding goalkeepers putting on a show. Kinga Janurik and Sakura Kametani were both at 50% save efficiency.

Japan tried to regain momentum by adding an extra attacking player, but their efforts fell short. Hungary woke up and, within three minutes, produced a 3:0 run to take an 8:5 lead. However, Japan managed to steady the ship and close the gap back to one before the break.

Japan’s strong form continued after halftime as they took control again in Rotterdam. Goalkeeper Sakura Kametani maintained her high level of performance, propelling her team to a three-goal lead (14:11), their first since 4:1 at the start.

Hungary looked nervous as the pressure started to build, forcing head coach Vladimir Golovin to call a time-out, but there was little improvement in the following minutes. Japan’s lead stretched further, prompting Golovin to use his third and final time-out just seven minutes later. Japan’s largest lead of the game came at 20:14.

However, the excitement and momentum briefly got to Japan, allowing Hungary to claw their way back and reduce the gap to 17:20 with ten minutes left. Hungary switched to a 5-1 defence and added an extra attacking player, trying to fight fire with fire. This opened up space for Anett Kovács, who joined the team only three days ago as a replacement for Vivien Grosch,  and she helped her side pull closer to 21:23.

The last five minutes were intense as Hungary fought their way back into the match, levelling at 23:23 after a double save from Zsófi Szemerey. Drama was ready to unfold. Japan entered their final attack at 26:26 with just under 40 seconds remaining, but Csenge Kuczora made a crucial block right on the buzzer, securing a hard-fought draw — one that guaranteed Hungary their place in the quarter-finals.

hummel Player of the Match: Sakura Kametani (Japan)