With only two months separating us from the start of the 2025 IHF Women’s World Championship, due to take place in Germany and the Netherlands, the participating teams have been finetuning their line-ups, with the last week being reserved for the national teams in women’s handball throughout the world.

The title holders, France, travelled to Oradea, Romania for a doubleheader against the hosts, which they won with ease, 32:27 and 30:24, on Thursday and Saturday. Once again, France delivered a well-rounded performance, as in the first match all but one outfield player scored at least one goal, with line player Sarah Bouktit leading the charge, with five goals.

In the second match, France provided yet another excellent defensive display, where Laura Glauser saved nine shots, as left wing Nina Dury, promoted from the gold medallists at the 2024 IHF Women’s Junior World Championship, was the top scorer, with six goals.

“I'm satisfied with both matches; the girls capitalised on their attitude. Winning by five and six goals in Romania, against players with real skill, is no small feat. We had little training and we were able to capitalise on that, playing like that after three training sessions; well done to the staff. There are still things that concern me, such as certain defensive changes,” said France’s coach, Sebastian Gardillou.

Four teams – three of which are qualified to the 2025 IHF Women’s World Championship - headed to Cheb, Czechia, for a three-day friendly tournament and the Olympic champions, Norway, with a much-changed squad, still proved to be too strong, with three monster wins.

First, Norway took a 42:10 win against Türkiye, followed by a 42:26 win against Croatia and a 37:15 win over hosts Czechia, proving once again just how strong they are, as they get to grips with new coach Ole Gustav Gjekstad.

The 2024 IHF Female Player of the Year, Henny Reistad, was rested against Türkiye, scored seven goals against Croatia and scored twice against Czechia. Goalkeeper Katrine Lunde was named the Player of the Match against Croatia.

Czechia finished second, with wins over Croatia (26:25) and Türkiye (32:25), while Croatia beat Türkiye, 36:29, in the last day, finishing on the third place.

Co-hosts Germany and the Netherlands faced off in two friendly matches the last week, with the first one taking place in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. Leading throughout the whole match, the Dutch side delivered a 35:31 win, but in the second match, played in Krefeld, Germany, the German side avenged that loss, 27:22, after leading 14:13 at the break.

Alina Grijseels (12 goals) and Nina Engel (12 goals) were the best scorers for Germany in the two matches, while for the Netherlands, Angela Malestein had 10 goals.

In their maiden match under new coach Helle Thomsen, Denmark enjoyed a clear 39:23 win over Iceland. Without line players Kathrine Heindahl, Rikke Iversen and Sarah Iversen, Denmark showed no issues in Thomsen’s debut, as they gear up for another medal at the IHF Women’s World Championship, finishing third in both 2021 and 2023.

In Tatabánya, Hungary, which will be the hosts of the 2027 IHF Women’s World Championship, provided yet another exciting match against some familiar foes, Sweden, taking a 34:32 win. Backs Csenge Kuczora and Petra Simon combined for 13 goals, helping their side complete a comeback, after being down 13:14 at the break.

Spain, a team undergoing a change of generation and had four debutants in their squad, secured two wins in Slovakia against the hosts, 33:25 and 31:21. Poland also beat Serbia, 30:26.

In a four-team competition hosted in Ohrid, North Macedonia, two African sides qualified for the 2025 IHF Women’s World Championship, Egypt and Tunisia, measured their forces with the hosts and Greece. Egypt conceded a 22:25 loss against Greece, and drew against Tunisia, 25:25, while taking a 19:18 win over the hosts, while Tunisia lost against the hosts, 27:34, and drew against Greece, 26:26, after leading 26:23 with 40 seconds to go.

The next international week will take place in October, when the European sides will feature in the EHF EURO 2026 Qualifiers.