Three teams have already clinched their spots in the main round at the 2025 IHF Women's World Championship and more can progress to the next phase of the competition when the fourth days throws off in Rotterdam, s'Hertogenbosch, Stuttgart and Trier.

GROUP A
18:00 CET Romania vs Japan

Two sides are stepping into this match from completely opposite poles. Romania overcame their early nerves against Croatia, turned the flow in their favour and eventually stretched the score into double digits – a win that did more than soothe the opening-day pressure. Yuliya Dumanska’s 41% efficiency between the posts and a defence that shifted gears on command flipped the game early in the second half, and that momentum is now their sharpest weapon. In addition, all players got a feel for the game.

Japan had a tough opening encounter against Denmark, where things quickly started to go awry for them. Their blistering 2:0 start melted into a 13-minute scoring drought, a string of one‑on‑one misses and an attack that never quite found its footing again, ending with 16 turnovers. Still, their two main forces were right back Kaho Nakayama and right wing Natsumi Akiyama, who netted nine times between them.

If Romania impose their rhythm and put a quick stop to Japan’s fast flow, they should cruise to their second win and seal their main-round ticket, leaving Japan in a tough position heading into the final round in their ninth meeting at the World Championship. Japan hold only one win, from 2019, when they prevailed 37:20.

20:30 CET Croatia vs Denmark

Croatia find themselves in a tough spot at the World Championship. They arrived in the Netherlands heavily weakened by injuries, with a young and inexperienced squad. Their hopes of progressing took a hit after the opening defeat to Romania and now comes an even greater challenge: powerhouse Denmark, who will not be in the mood to drop points.

The Croatians are practically in a must‑win situation from now on, yet also in a position where they have to think ahead to the final‑round match against Japan, which may end up deciding their fate. That means smart rotation and damage control will also play a role. Beyond left back Tina Barišić, Croatia struggled heavily in attack, especially in the back‑court line, and found very little space on the line – something that could be even more problematic against Denmark’s strong defence.

On the other side, Denmark opened the World Championship convincingly, claiming a 36:19 win over Japan while rotating the entire squad and boasting one of the top five attacks of the competition so far. Anna Kristensen and Amalie Milling both stood strong between the posts and the attack had strong efficiency on both ends. Helle Thomsen started her road as Denmark coach convincingly.

This will be only the third World Championship meeting between the two sides and Denmark won both previous encounters. Croatia, however, hold two wins over Denmark from the Women’s EHF EURO, including the memorable 25:19 bronze‑medal match in 2020.

GROUP B
18:00 CET Switzerland vs Senegal

Switzerland opened their debut World Championship campaign in style. In the first round they overpowered Iran, holding them to just nine goals, while Knut Ove Joa used the occasion to give minutes to every player and let the full squad feel the Maaspoort Arena court.

Ahead of them now is a far more demanding task: Senegal, a team that will not give up easily. Switzerland will need full concentration if they want a second victory – one that would secure their main‑round ticket and keep them in the fight for the top of the group.

Senegal, meanwhile, started with a 17:26 defeat to Hungary, despite delivering a promising first half where they matched the favourites. A sheer number of mistakes in the second half opened the door for Hungary to pull away, overshadowing the brilliance of goalkeeper Justicia Toubissa Elbeco, who finished with 16 saves and a 40% success rate.

20:30 CET Islamic Republic of Iran vs Hungary

Hungary enter the match as clear favourites against Iran and will likely use the opportunity to rotate heavily, resting key players before what could become the decisive group clash against Switzerland.

Their opening match against Senegal started slowly, but Hungary found a solution for the early pressure and closed the game convincingly thanks to the impact of Gréta Márton and goalkeeper Zsófi Szemerey. Vladimir Golovin will surely test different combinations, knowing Iran pose limited threat.

On the other side, Iran, despite a heavy 9:34 loss to Switzerland, never lacked desire or determination. As in previous editions, the Iranians showed a strong fighting spirit, relying on their familiar leaders named Fatemeh – Merikh and Khalili Behfar – to carry the team forward as they gain valuable experience. But they will need to step up even more, as for now they remain the only team at Germany/Netherlands 2025 that has failed to score double digits.

GROUP G
18:00 CET Brazil vs Czechia

Thanks to a commanding 41:20 win against Cuba, Brazil top the group after the opening round of matches, ahead of Sweden on goal difference. The 44‑year‑old Alexandra do Nascimento, who made her return to the World Championship after six years, had a special impact, becoming the South American team’s top scorer with seven goals.

Another victory will secure Brazil a main round berth, but now they will face tougher opposition. Still, Cristiano Silva’s team are seen as favourites, and they will try their best to win – just like at the 2023 IHF Women’s World Championship, when the Brazilians earned a 30:27 victory in the only competitive match between the two rivals so far.

Czechia’s goalkeeper Sabrina Novotná stood out in the opening match against Sweden, delivering 17 saves for a 36% save efficiency. But while her team fought hard for much of the encounter, they ultimately lost by eight goals, 23:31 – and they have to improve their attacking efficiency in order to grab some points from Brazil.

20:30 CET Cuba vs Sweden

Seen as one of the favourites of the tournament, Sweden started with a win against Czechia. The Nordic team’s performance was not perfect, and their advantage was shaky for most of the match, but a late surge, as well as 12 saves from Johanna Bundsen, helped them to take an eight‑goal victory.

A win on Saturday will hand Tomas Axnér’s team a main round berth, and the Swedes will enter the game as clear favourites. In the past, the rivals met just once at the World Championship, at Denmark 2015, and Sweden then won by 24 goals, 49:25, as Nathalie Hagman – who is still in the Swedish roster – netted 14 times.

At the start of Germany/Netherlands 2025, the Cubans suffered another big loss, by 21 goals against Brazil, and they sit bottom of the group. While their goalkeeper Niurkis Mora recorded 14 saves, and Jennifer Toledo scored eight goals, Cuba had as many as 33 turnovers, which proved costly. The match against Sweden will probably be even more challenging for the Central American team.

Group H
18:00 CET Angola vs Republic of Korea

In the past, this would have normally been the clash of the African and Asian champions but after losing the final of their continental competition last year to Japan, Korea can no longer lay claim to that title unlike their opponents on matchday two of group H.

The two teams had very different starts to their Germany/Netherlands 2025 campaigns with Angola easily beating Kazakhstan (38:20) and Korea facing, arguably, the toughest opener out of all 32 teams at the event, when they took on reigning Olympic and European champions, going down 34:19.

Under 2019 silver medal-winning coach Carlos Viver, Angola can already book their ticket to the main round with a win, while Korea will look to get off the mark in their post Ryu Eun Hee era.

20:30 CET Kazakhstan vs Norway

Norway have beaten Kazakhstan in all three of their previous clashes, with the gap growing from 16 goals at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, 35:19, to 21 goals at Denmark 2015, 40:19, and 28 goals at Spain 2021, 46:18.

It is unlikely that this clash will go any other way than a European win with Ole Gustav Gjekstad – in just his second world championship game as Norway coach – likely to use it to rest some starters and give minutes to the rest of his squad, and maybe even try some more 7 v 6 which he introduced in the Korea win.

Kazakhstan will be looking to put in a better performance than their opener against Angola which saw them turn over the ball 20 times and make just four saves in the 42 faced.