Reigning champions France threw off Germany/Netherlands 2025 in style, delivering a high-scoring performance against Tunisia. Facing a team returning to the World Championship after missing the 2023 edition, France controlled the match and secured a convincing 43:18 victory to open their title defence.

GROUP F
France vs Tunisia 43:18 (21:12)

France had a topsy-turvy start to the competition against Tunisia. After needing two minutes to finally score, they powered ahead and built a 6:3 lead against a team coached by Frenchman Pablo Morel and featuring several players active in France. Still, two good saves by Roa Mkadem sparked Tunisia’s run to level the score in the 11th minute, enough to put a serious look on Sébastien Gardillou’s face, at least for a moment.

Tunisia tried to mount a brave defensive fight, enjoying a solid spell stopping France’s backcourt in positional play, but they could not find a solution for Sarah Bouktit on the line. She was France’s standout player in the opening 17 minutes, scoring five goals and opening the door for France’s next surge. With the defence tightened, France pushed ahead and held a five-goal lead (13:8) by the 20th minute.

Things started to go awry for Tunisia as half-time approached, and even a late goalkeeper change had little impact. France cruised to a nine-goal lead (20:11), scoring mainly from fast breaks generated by strong defensive reactions. The numbers spoke clearly as well: France finished the half with a 78% attacking efficiency, while Tunisia sat at 46%, a gap that highlighted Tunisia’s turnovers.

The gap between the two teams only widened in the second half. France’s experience and depth came fully into play, leaving Tunisia with just four goals scored in the opening 17 minutes of the half. On the other side, France marched forward with ease, driven by the outstanding left wing and hummel Player of the Match Suzanne Wajoka, who remained flawless with 10 goals from 10 attempts and set the biggest lead of the match so far at 34:15 in the 46th minute.

Tunisia’s problems grew after the injury of Fadwa Aouij, their centre back, whose absence further disrupted an already struggling attack. France kept rolling towards the 40-goal mark and finally reached it in the 56th minute when Emma Jacques scored from the seven‑metre line.

In the end, France opened their journey at Germany/Netherlands 2025 with a convincing 43:18 victory, their strongest World Championship opening since their very first appearance in 1986. Until today, their best start had been the 41:22 win over Japan in 2011.

“It was a special game for us with this new team as we have a good number of new players. We were stressed, but we are happy that we opened the championship with a game like this,” said French team captain Tamara Horacek.

“We didn’t have a chance against a big team like France, but we did our best here. Our goal is to go to the main round so we are starting now after this game, to try and go for more. We will take positive things from this match,” concluded Tunisia’s centre back Sondes Hachana Ep Kerkeni.

hummel Player of the Match: Suzanne Wajoka (France)