Close encounter sees Austria progress at Argentina's expense

The second consecutive win at the 2025 IHF Women’s World Championship saw Austria seal a main round berth, after dominating Argentina, 27:23, in a close clash.

GROUP E
Austria vs Argentina 27:23 (12:12)

Four years ago, at the 2021 IHF Women’s World Championship, Argentina took a surprising 31:29 win against a depleted Austria side in the preliminary round, basically paving their way for a main round spot.

Would the history be repeated in Rotterdam? This is what Argentina hoped and this is what the South American team fought from the start for, with a win here all but ensuring their safe passage before the last match of the preliminary round against Egypt.

And for the first part of the match, Argentina were really looking like they were up for something. They took early control of the match, leading 7:3 after 11 minutes. And then, Austria came back roaring. Despite missing key players in Johanna Reichert and Katarina Pandža, they used a 5:0 unanswered run to turn the match on its head, preventing Argentina to score for 10 minutes and 26 seconds.

Team captain Ines Ivančok-Soltic led the charge, with seven goals in the first 45 minutes, despite turning the ball over eight times, while fellow back Ana Pandža dictated the rhythm, with two goals and six assists over that timeframe.

But at the break, the two teams were still tied, 12:12, after Argentina got a buzzer-beater scratched out, due to the ball entering the goal after the whistle in the first half. And that was enough for Austria, which started with a 4:1 run in the second half, a run which proved to be pivotal in the outcome of the match.

Pandža and Ivančok-Soltic were once againinstrumental in that moment, as well as right back Klara Schlegel, who continued her good form from the match against Egypt, forcing Argentina to always play from behind. That meant more pressure on the South American team, whose defence did not bring what was needed, especially between the posts.

By the 50th minute, their goalkeeper efficiency was stuck at 19%, while Argentina had also lost influential left back Elke Karsten, due to a red card, as they were still down three goals, 20:23, forcing Austria to adapt to a seven-on-six attack tactic, an all-out attack from the South American side.

Unfortunately for Argentina, that did not work out, as multiple mistakes led to easy goals from Austria, which eventually secured their second consecutive win, 27:23, dishing Argentina their second loss in a row in the competition, with Ivančok-Soltic finishing as the top scorer, with eight goals.

Austria are through to the main round, while Argentina face a must-win match against Egypt, in the battle for the last main round spot from Group E in Rotterdam.

hummel Player of the Match: Lena Ivančok (Austria)