One quarter-finals ticket is still up for grabs in Gothenburg in Group I, while Denmark face Germany in a battle for the first place in Group III, as the main round closes at the 2023 IHF Women's World Championship.

Main round 
Group I
15:30 CET Cameroon vs Senegal

Both teams have lost a chance to reach the quarter-final, as the fifth-placed Senegal have just one point under their belt, while Cameroon sit bottom of the group with no points. 

However, each side will be very motivated to win the African derby and take a higher position than their continental rivals in the final ranking of the 26th IHF Women's World Championship. 

Progressing from the preliminary group for the first time in history was already quite a success for these teams, who have obviously struggled against the European rivals in the main round. While Cameroon lost 13:37 against Sweden and 15:24 against Croatia, Senegal were defeated by Hungary, 20:30, and Montenegro, 21:29.

Overall, Senegal have made a better impression at the tournament, especially in the opening round as they drew with Croatia and fought hard against Sweden. However, Cameroon also improved during some of their matches, even winning the second half against the Swedes on Saturday. And both teams have players to look at, such as Senegal's Soukeina Sagna and Cameroon's Laeticia Ateba, who have a tally of 34 and 27 goals respectively.

Last year, the two sides met at the group stage of the 2022 CAHB African Women's Championship, and Cameroon won in a close fight, 28:27. They went on to earn silver, while Senegal finished fourth, but now the teams will face off at another level, as it will be their first-ever meeting at the IHF Women's World Championship. 

18:00 CET Hungary vs Croatia 

A 22:26 loss against Sweden was quite a heart-breaking result for Hungary, who led 11:10 after 30 minutes, but allowed the co-hosts to make a comeback in the second half. With four points, the fourth-placed Hungary lost the chance for a quarter-finals spot – they may still go level on points with Montenegro, who are currently ranked second, but the Balkan side will get an advantage thanks to their win in a mutual encounter.

However, Vladimir Golovin's team still have something to fight for. With a win against Croatia, they will finish third in Group I and possibly ninth at the tournament, which may secure them an Olympic ticket. 

"Nothing has been easy for us, and nothing will be. We are expecting a difficult match against Sweden, and we have to concentrate on it," Golovin said.

For Croatia, a quarter-final ticket will be at stake. The Balkan team did not particularly impress at the opening stage of Denmark/Norway/Sweden, but they secured two wins against Montenegro and Cameroon in the main round and stay in contention for the second place in the group.

On Monday, Ivica Obrvan's team simply has to get a better result against Hungary than Montenegro against Sweden. In case Croatia and Montenegro finish level on points, the Croatians will have an advantage on a head-to-head-encounter. 

"I believe that it will be an excellent game against a strong national team that has a lot of quality, and that we have the ability and quality to win this game," Obrvan remarked. 

Hungary and Croatia last met at the IHF Women's World Championship at Russia 2005, when the Hungarians won 27:26. However, they faced each other several times at the Women's EHF EURO more recently, and in particular, last year Croatia won their mutual encounter at Slovenia/North Macedonia/Montenegro 2022, 21:18. 

20:30 CET Montenegro vs Sweden 

After making an impressive comeback against Hungary, Sweden secured their quarter-final berth with one match to go in the main round. With a flawless record of five wins in as many encounters, they hope to extend the winning run on Monday when they meet Montenegro.

For the Swedish team, it will be the last match on home court during the tournament, as they will move to Denmark for a quarter-final game in Herning. With scorers like Jamina Roberts, Nathalie Hagman and Emma Lindqvist as well as excellent goalkeepers, the Scandinavians have a good chance to record just another win on Monday.

However, the second-placed Montenegro will fight extremely hard, as they haven't secured a quarter-final berth yet. With a win against Sweden, Bojana Popovic's team will finish top of Group I, but they might as well be eliminated in case of a draw or a defeat, in case Croatia earn a better result in their encounter with Hungary on the same day.

"Sweden are a good team, a host, and the hall will be full. It's a pleasure to play such matches. The sweetest is saved for the end, now we have to recover and to look forward to our next game," Popovic said. 

On Saturday, the Balkan side lived up to expectation by comfortably defeating Senegal, 29:21, and although their first-choice goalkeeper Marta Batinovic is out with a severe knee injury, Marina Rajcic did well in goal, recording a 50% save rate, which should give her team some more confidence ahead of a crucial match against Sweden.

Actually, Montenegro won both most recent competitive duels against Sweden, 26:23 at the 2019 IHF Women's World Championship and 31:25 at the Women's EHF EURO 2020, and while the Swedes are seen as favourites in their Monday clash, the Balkan team will try hard to claim another victory and reach the quarter-final.  

Main Round
Group III
15:30 CET Japan vs Serbia

With four losses in five matches – their largest tally in history at a single edition of the IHF Women’s World Championship – Serbia are now sure of their worst-ever finish in the competition, but they will be still aiming to finish off on a high, when they take on the court for the last time in the Jyske Bank Boxen in Herning.

Uros Bregar’s side has the second-lowest number of goals per match from the teams qualified into the main round, an average of 24.2 per match, as they have only scored more than 30 goals once, in the win against Chile. But with a win on Monday, Serbia can avoid finishing last, as they would leapfrog Japan in the standings.

Having lost against Romania, Poland, Germany and Denmark, Serbia will now face Japan, a plucky side, who has also faced four European opponents, as their worst loss came against Romania, 28:32, in the previous match.

The main focus of Japan’s attack is centre back Natsuki Aizawa, who has scored the largest number of goals – 26 – and has the largest number of assists – 21 – in Japan’s side, having been crucial so far for the Asian side, who has lost by two goals against Poland (30:32) and by one goal against Germany (30:31).

However, even with a win, Japan cannot avoid finishing the fifth place, as they do not hold the tiebreaker against Romania and Poland, as they will finish between the 17th and the 20th places at the 2023 IHF Women’s World Championship.

18:00 CET Poland vs Romania

After their loss against Denmark, 22:32, Poland were eliminated from contention for a quarter-finals berth, as that was their second loss in five matches at the 2023 IHF Women’s World Championship. That result was also decisive for Romania, which also went crashing out.

It was once again a disappointing outing for the European side, whose attack has failed to produce the needed goods, ranking 20th in terms of goals scored per match, with an average of 25.6 goals per match.

Poland also ranks middle of the pack in terms of goalkeeping saves, with a 29.1% saving efficiency, as just below them is Romania, whose goalkeepers have saved 28.1% of the shots they faced, with this battle being crucial in deciding the outcome of the match.

On the other hand, Romania’s attack had on-and-off moments, missing in action against Denmark and Germany in their only losses. But each time they scored at least 30 goals, they cruised to wins, spurred by centre back Eliza Buceschi, who was the top goal scorer of the competition after five rounds, with 36 goals.

Buceschi was also named the Player of the Match in three of Romania’s clashes, as she assumed even more responsibility after Cristina Neagu, Romania’s star, who will likely be absent in Romania’s last match at the 2023 IHF Women’s World Championship, featured only 23 minutes and 48 seconds on the court against Germany, due to an injury.

Since 2007, Romania and Poland have met five times, with Romania taking four wins, but Poland’s only win came at the 2013 IHF Women’s World Championship, 31:29. Eight years ago, though, Romania won the bronze medal at Denmark 2015, with a dominating 31:22 win.

The winner of the clash will seal the third place in the group and can finish between the ninth and the 12th positions, while the loser will end between the 13th and the 16th positions, which for Romania can mean their worst finish since Italy 2001, when they were 17th.

20:30 CET Germany vs Denmark

Germany are one of the five teams which have started the competition with five wins in a row, but they will face their sternest test so far, as the clash against co-hosts Denmark, in a packed Jyske Bank Boxen in Herning will decide the winner of the group, which could, at least in theory, have an easier path towards the trophy.

Denmark were rocked by their loss against Japan, 25:26, but they bounced back against Poland, 32:22, and could still win the first place in the group with a win against Germany, basically cancelling that loss against Japan. However, with the latest developments, Denmark will face the winner of the quarter-final between Norway and the Netherlands in that instance.

So far, Denmark have conceded 102 goals, an average of 20.4 goals per match, while Germany have an average of 22.4 goals conceded per match, as the two sides rank in the top 10 of goals conceded so far in the world handball flagship competition.

Germany are expected to welcome back centre back Alina Grijseels in the squad, after she missed the clash against Poland, as the team’s top scorer in the competition, with 23 goals, should be ready to deliver in what looks to be Germany’s hardest match so far at Denmark/Norway/Sweden 2023.

The last three meetings between the two sides all came at the IHF Women’s World Championship and were won by Denmark in 2021, 32:16, and 2017, 21:17, while Germany took the win in 2019, 26:25.

President’s Cup
Group I
18:00 CET Iceland vs People's Republic of China

Iceland and the People's Republic of China had a flawless President's Cup so far with two wins out of two matches and now they are eyeing the third one when they collide in Frederikshavn. The winner of the duel will also determine the Group I winner and which will go into the Placement Matches 25/26, the President’s Cup final.

Looking at the numbers, Iceland are the favourite in the match. The European side scored 134 goals in five games, with Sandra Erlingsdottir leading the pack with her tally being at 24 goals so far. On the other hand, China netted only 107 or 5.4 goals per game less on average and if they do not force Iceland into their pace, they will have a tough time in an important game.

If China win against Iceland it will be the first time, as in their only previous encounter, at the 2011 IHF Women’s World Championship, the European side was better, 23:16.

20:30 CET Paraguay vs Greenland

Paraguay's worst placement in their five World Championship appearances was the 29th place at Spain 2021 and at Denmark/Norway/Sweden 2023, they can only accomplish the same or be ranked even lower. The South American team need to aim for their first win at the competition and beat Greenland to secure Placement Matches 29/30 against the winner of the Kazakhstan and the Islamic Republic of Iran clash.

Paraguay's goalkeeper is among the top ten in saves, with 36 saves, and she will try to keep the Greenlandic attack below their scoring average of 17.6 per game. As Paraguay have only a slightly better attack, the defence could be the key. Yet, Greenland are coming into the match boosted by their good performance against the People's Republic of China, in which tied their lowest defeat ever at the world flagship competition. 

As both sides seek their maiden win at Denmark/Norway/Sweden 2023, Paraguay will have an advantage of already having one victory against Greenland - 25:18 at the Pan American Championship in 2015.

Group II
13:00 CET Congo vs Chile

Both sides' previous worst placement was 23rd place and they will end Denmark/Norway/Sweden 2023 between 25th and 28th place, depending on their mutual encounter and later placement match. Congo and Chile had a hard time in the preliminary round, ending it with three straight defeats but in the President's Cup they are the strong teams.

Chile are boosted by two convincing wins against the Islamic Republic of Iran and Kazakhstan, while Congo made a great comeback against Kazakhstan and proved too strong for the Islamic Republic of Iran.

In the battle for the top of the group and their first clash ever, Chile will be led by their goalkeeper Madeleine Noelia Cortez Fuenzalida who at ten saves per game on average, and is among the best in those terms. Fanta Diagouraga is the main force of the Congolese attack, not only she is leading top scorer of her side with 28 goals, but she also added another 16 assists to the list. 

15:30 CET Islamic Republic of Iran vs Kazakhstan

Still without a win at the 26th IHF Women's World Championship, both the Islamic Republic of Iran and Kazakhstan want to avoid the Placement Match 31/32. Kazakhstan almost surprised Congo at the start of the President's Cup but had to accept a narrow defeat, 36:37. The game left a mark on the players, as two days later they could not keep up with the Chilean squad.

That is why, Kazakhstan will seek redemption and try to play the last two games of the World Championship at their best. Kazakhstan secured their 2021 Main Round spot against the Islamic Republic of Iran, winning 31:25. They also won their previous two encounters - 38:33 and 41:26.

The Islamic Republic of Iran are still gaining valuable experience after debuting at the World Championship in 2021. They have lost all six matches at Denmark/Norway/Sweden 2023 with an average goal margin of 19.4, with their best game yet being the 20:30 defeat against Chile. Still, if young left back Fatemeh Merikh and goalkeeper Fatemeh Khalili Behfar produce their best performances, they could come close to the historic win.