With the women’s continental championships rapidly approaching at the end of November and throughout December, the national teams week saw a busy schedule, with a plethora of matches played over the last days throughout Europe and Africa.

The reigning world, European and Olympic champions, Norway, dominated their opponents in the Golden League friendly competition, which saw four matches being played over the course of the weekend in Odense, Denmark.

In the first match, Norway, who lost the EHF EURO Cup 2026 back in September, absolutely dominated the Netherlands, taking a clear 38:23 win, in which Henny Reistad scored eight goals.

Reistad doubled down on her performance and scored 11 times in the second match, taking their revenge against Denmark, the team who beat Norway in the final of the EHF EURO Cup 2026, with a clear 34:25 win, the writing being on the wall after the first half, when Norway led, 18:12.

Reistad, Norway’s captain and the IHF Female Player of the Year in 2023, 2024 and 2025, is just around the 600-goal mark for the Norway national team, having scored 598 goals in 126 matches for the national team.

Runners-up at the 2025 IHF Women’s World Championship, Germany, were the fourth team playing in the Golden League, and came out unscathed, albeit with a draw in the second match against the Netherlands, 25:25. There, Germany had good performances from goalkeeper Sarah Wachter (17 saves) and right back Nina Engel (10 goals).

In the first match, Germany produced a clinical performance to take a 26:21 win against hosts Denmark, with Helle Thomsen’s side now in need for answers before the EHF EURO 2026.

The bronze medallists at the 2025 IHF Women’s World Championship, France, had a doubleheader against Hungary in Strasbourg and Györ. The first match, in Hungary, ended in a stalemate, 29:29, while Hungary took the win in the second one, 27:25, with France turning the ball over too many times.

Katrin Klujber and Viktoria Györi-Lukacs each scored six goals for Hungary in the second match, with the European side coming back from the two losses in the EHF EURO Cup, when they finished fourth, conceding their matches against Norway and Romania.

Romania, one of the five hosts at the EHF EURO 2026, which will take place between 3 and 20 December, had two matches against Croatia, in Koprivnica and Prelog. Both were won by Romania, who clinched a 34:32 win in the first one and a 28:25 win in the second one.

Brazil, the reigning South and Central American champion, travelled to Sweden, for two matches in Alingsas and Jönköping, with the European side taking the win in both matches, albeit by slim margins.

First, Sweden had seven goals from in-form Clara Lerby, the second best scorer in the EHF Champions League Women this season, to take a 24:21 win. In the second match, won by Sweden, 28:24, Tyra Axnér scored eight times for Sweden, as Brazil had Gabriela Bitolo scoring five times and veteran Alexandra do Nascimento netting four times.

Another European side, Spain, took two wins on home court against Asian powerhouse Japan. If the first match was a total domination from Spain, ending with a 34:23 win, the second one was closer.

Danila So Delgado had 13 goals for Spain, while the MVP of the 2024 IHF Women’s Youth World Championship, Belén Rodríguez Lario, added six goals, in Spain’s 30:26 win.

African hopefuls Egypt hosted EHF EURO debutants Greece in Cairo, and the European side came unscathed, with a 33:27 win and a 28:28 draw in the second match.

Argentina, Tunisia and DR Congo featured in Tunisia in the Three Nations Trophy, with Argentina sealing two wins, 34:26 against DR Congo, and 27:23 against Tunisia. However, Tunisia also clinched two wins, 30:26 against Argentina in the first match between the two sides, and a 30:29 win over DR Congo.

The 27th African Women's Handball Championship will be staged in Tunisia from 2 to 12 December 2026. 

Photo credit: Mario Koberg / DHB