Twenty teams are still pursuing their IHF Women’s World Championship dream, as the European Qualification Phase 1 took place last weekend.

While eight European teams were fighting for a Tokyo 2020 berth, 17 other sides were vying to continue their World Championship dream throughout Europe, in six tournaments.

The best two teams in each of the six tournaments earned safe passage to the play-offs stage of the European qualification phase, after an action-packed weekend of handball.

In Group 1, Slovakia swept their opponents, by earning crucial wins against Ukraine (31:28), Israel (37:19) and Luxembourg (37:17), while Ukraine finished second, with clear wins against Israel (31:24) and Luxembourg (28:21). The Slovakian side, who last qualified for the IHF Women’s World Championship in 1995, had the best goal difference throughout all six tournaments, +41.

With a superb comeback in the second half against Greece, 20:19, when they limited the Greek side to only six goals scored in the last 30 minutes of the game, North Macedonia won Group 2, after two other wins against Lithuania (31:21) and Iceland (24:17). The Icelandic side finished second, after a flawless win against Lithuania (33:23) in the last round of the tournament.

North Macedonian left wing Sara Ristovska was the top scorer of the weekend, putting 29 goals in three games past the opponents’ goalkeepers, confirming her superb form in the DELO EHF Champions League, where she plays for CSKA Moscow.

After Finland withdrew from Group 3, Portugal and Turkey were handed play-offs berths, while in Group 5, Switzerland and Belarus were tied atop of the standings, with three points each, after winning against the Faroe Islands and drawing the mutual game, 25:25.

Austria and Italy duly beat Kosovo to qualify from Group 4, with the more experienced Austrian side clinching the first place in the group, after a 37:22 drubbing of Italy in the last game of the group.

The 10 teams join Russia, Germany, Montenegro, Hungary, Sweden, Romania, Serbia, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovenia in the European World Championship play-offs. The draw for the next phase of the Qualification Phase was held today in Vienna at the EHF office.

The 20 teams were allocated into two pots, with the 10 best-ranked teams from the Women’s EHF EURO 2020 that have not qualified for the IHF Women’s World Championship 2021 in Spain in the first pot, while the 10 qualified teams from the Qualification Phase 1 in the second pot.

Pot 1: Russia, Germany, Montenegro, Hungary, Sweden, Romania, Serbia, Poland, Czech Republic and Slovenia.

Pot 2: Slovakia, Ukraine, North Macedonia, Iceland, Portugal, Turkey, Austria, Italy, Switzerland and Belarus.

Each team from Pot 1 is paired with a team from Pot 2, with the team drawn first retaining home advantage for the first leg. The results of the draw are:

Turkey vs Russia
Czech Republic vs Switzerland
Slovenia vs Iceland
Slovakia vs Serbia
Ukraine vs Sweden
Austria vs poland
Hungary vs Italy
Romania vs North Macedonia
Portugal vs Germany
Montenegro vs Belarus

For the first time, the IHF Women’s World Championship will feature 32 teams, with the 10 European sides that progress from the play-offs joining the six already-qualified teams: hosts Spain, reigning champions the Netherlands and the four-best teams at the Women’s EHF EURO 2020, Norway, France, Croatia and Denmark.

This afternoon's draw brought exciting play-offs pairings on the road to the Women's #ihf World Championship 2021 ? Which team will make it to Spain for sure? ?

Read the full recap here: https://t.co/PGyad0xig2 pic.twitter.com/2PTqZxB8Ab

— HomeofHandball (@HomeofHandball) March 22, 2021

Photo: EHF/Uros Hocevar