Three promising games are on the card today at Palau D'Esports De Granollers, with four teams still in contention for the much-desired quarter-final spots.

In their match against Montenegro, RHF will be motivated to get back on track after their draw against Slovenia. The second match of the day promises to be decisive for the outcome of the top of the group as the unbeaten France side play Serbia, while Slovenia want to keep their quarter-final hopes alive against Poland.  

Montenegro vs RHF 15:30 CET 

RHF had a reality check when coming to Granollers for the main round: after three successful preliminary round games, Liudmila Bodnieva’s team ended with a tie against Slovenia on Thursday. “We didn’t show our best at all,” said the RHF coach afterwards at the press conference so her team are eager to get on court again and underline that they can perform better. 

Montenegro also enter the game after a disappointing one. Their 25:27 loss to Serbia has the team on the bottom of the group with their backs and no more chance to reach the quarter-finals.

With RHF being the favourites in this game on paper, no one knows how the unexpected tie affects Bodnieva’s squad mentally if Montenegro manage to keep the game open. 

Serbia vs France 18:00 CET 

This match is the top game of the day in main round Group I, with the unbeaten French side facing Serbia who lost against RHF in the preliminary round but looked strong on Thursday when beating Montenegro after a powerful performance in the second half. 

With the historic win against Montenegro on the biggest stage, Serbia are full of confidence. “It was a really, really tough match, with a lot of mental pressure. We will continue to fight every match the length of this competition,” said Serbia coach Uros Bregar, which sounds like a message for France already. 

“France is really something,” Serbia captain Jovana Stoiljkovic said about Olivier Krumbholz’s side. “They really have a lot of quality. We will try to do our best against them and we will find the solution of how to play against them.”

France are without a doubt a very strong contender, which they proved once again with a solid game against Poland to start their main round (26:16). So far, Krumbholz’s team can rely on a brilliant defence only allowing their opponents a very limited number of goals. The France coach also had a message for potential upcoming opponents when he said, “in one or two games, we will be at the maximum.” 

Slovenia vs Poland 20:30 CET

Slovenia managed to clinch a draw against RHF – which seems more like a win for coach Dragan Adzic’s team. But the Slovenians also know that the point from the draw is only worth something when points against Poland will follow. Same is true for the Poland teamwho are currently ranked at the bottom of the group with zero points, just like Montenegro. 

It will most likely come down to who handles the pressure best. 

“We are not very experienced with big games like against RHF,” the Slovenia coach pointed out on Thursday. Poland have had a rocky path in their 25th IHF Women’s World Championship campaign so far, also being shaky under pressure. 

The pressure is on for both teams. We will find out who handles it best and prevails.