The last day of competition for 24 teams at the 2026 IHF Women’s Junior World Championship started with Romania, Austria, the Faroe Islands and Canada all winning their matches, to secure better places in the final standings,

Placement Match 11/12
Czechia v Romania 32:37 (16:17)

Just like in the previous edition of the IHF Women’s Junior World Championship, Romania finished on the 11th place, after their win against Czechia, 37:32, in a high-octane match.

Player of the Match, left back Teodora-Lavinia Damian, scored 15 goals from 18 shots in the match, including four of the last six for Romania, in what turned out to be a fantastic performance for her, taking her provisionally to the first place in the top goal scorer standings, with 55 goals, on a 74% shooting efficiency throughout the competition.

Czechia, which finished the competition with four losses in the last five matches, had no answer for Romania’s attack, despite having a lower number of turnovers in the match. But the overall efficiency of the attack was far higher for Romania, with Czechia also mustering only eight saves between their three goalkeepers throughout the match.

Czechia finished around the top-10 once again, just like in 1995, 2014 and 2022, when they finished eleventh, being only one win away from the top-10, but this generation showed plenty of promise, improving from their previous 25th place finish in 2024.

Player of the Match: Teodora-Lavinia Damian (Romania)

Placement Match 15/16
Austria v Republic of Korea 29:27 (15:12)

Austria and the Republic of Korea offered a knife’s edge match, with plenty of drama throughout the 60 minutes, but the European side had the experience to manage the match until the end and eventually seal a 29:27 win against the Republic of Korea.

It was a game of cat and mouse, with both sides boasting a 60% shooting efficiency, but Korea had double the number of turnovers in the match, which eventually proved to be their downfall, as well as missing five penalties.

Goalkeeper Elena Dorfinger saved two penalties for Austria, while Nina Plavotic added another, with Naomi Proving being the top scorer of the European side, with eight goals, as Austria led by three goals at the break, 15:12.

In the second half, Korea could not come closer than two goals, as their top scorer, Ayoung Suh, had five goals and seven assists, while Jimin Kim added seven goals, and finished on the 16th place, after a 27:29 loss.

This is the third consecutive edition where the Asian side – one of the three which made it to the main round – finishes outside top-10, with Korea still having nine medals in the competition.

Player of the Match: Rebecca Chroust (Austria)

Placement Match 23/24
Algeria v Faroe Islands 23:40 (15:23)

The Faroe Islands finished 23rd in their debut at the IHF Women’s Junior World Championship, after a strong display in their last match of the competition, where their attacking firepower was on full display.

The European side had 23 goals in the first half and 40 in the second one, in their most complete overall display, never letting their opponents ask any questions throughout the match.

All but three of Faroe’s players scored at least one goal in the match, with Rakul Joensen (nine goals) and Joan Johannensen (seven goals) leading the way, as their lead was already up to eight goals at the end of the first half.

Goalkeeper Gylta Á Neystabo also displayed a 56% saving efficiency, while Algeria turned the ball over 20 times, yet the African side still finished 24th, an uptick of seven places from the previous edition of the IHF Women’s Junior World Championship, when they ended on the 31st place.

Player of the Match: Joan Johannensen (Faroe Islands)

Placement Match 31/32
India v Canada 36:42 (17:19)

Just like two years ago, at the 2024 IHF Women’s Youth World Championship, Canada avoided finishing on the last place, after winning the Placement Match 31/32, against India, in a high-octane match, the second-largest scoring one in the competition.

A 4:0 unanswered run help Canada take the lead, 8:7, after 12 minutes and they never looked back from that moment on, in a high-paced match, which provided plenty of goals, 78, just one shy of the record set by India yesterday, against USA.

Petra-Sînziana Botarel and Florence Boisclair both scored in double digits, with 11 and 10 goals respectively, as the shorthanded India side could not manage the rhythm in the second half, as Sujata Sujata and Shivan Devi each scored nine goals.

As Canada finished 31st, with their first win of the competition, India ended up on the last place, with seven losses in seven matches.

Player of the Match: Petra-Sînziana Botarel (Canada)