Examining Group D: Familiar faces face off at Denmark/Norway/Sweden 2023

Two years ago at Spain 2021, Group A saw three European sides – France, Montenegro and Slovenia – face the reigning African champions, Angola, in one of the most balanced groups at the 2021 IHF Women’s World Championship.

The draw for the preliminary round of the world handball flagship competition always brings surprises and interesting clashes and Denmark/Norway/Sweden 2023 is no exception. However, for Angola, France and Slovenia, there will be little surprises, as the three teams will face off once again in Group D, with Montenegro being replaced by Iceland.

It is no surprise, therefore, that fiery clashes are expected in the DNB Arena in Stavanger, with the reigning Olympic champions being favourites, as they prepare for the home Paris 2024 Olympics. But by no means, this is going to be a walk in the park, especially as Angola are aiming to improve after they finished 25th at Spain 2021, their worst-ever finish at the IHF Women’s World Championship.

Olivier Krumbholz will lead France for the last time at the IHF Women’s World Championship, as the long-tenured coach has already announced his retirement after the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, and he will aim to secure his seventh medal in the competition, after clinching the gold in 2003 and 2017 and the silver in 1999, 2001, 2011 and 2021.

For that, France will have to enjoy a perfect start to the competition, especially as they are poised to face reigning champions Norway, in a rematch of the final at Spain 2021 in the main round. On the one hand, France have an advantage over all of the sides taking part in Group D, especially against Angola.

In nine matches played against the African powerhouse, France have eight wins, including three in a row at the IHF Women’s World Championship. At Germany 2017, France took a 29:16 win in the preliminary round, at Japan 2019, they beat Angola by 11 goals, 28:17, in the Placement Round, while at Spain 2021, they took a 30:20 win in the first match of the competition.

Angola’s only win came at France 2007, when they surprisingly beat France on their home court, 29:27, in the preliminary round, but since then, their lowest margin of loss was nine goals in five matches. In fact, over the last five mutual matches, France won by a whopping average of 9.6 goals per match. 

France also hold the advantage in head-to-head matches over Slovenia, with four wins out of five matches, as the two European sides faced off four times over the last six years. Surprisingly, Slovenia took a 24:23 win in the preliminary round at Germany 2017, but since then, France took a 31:20 win at the EHF EURO 2018, a 27:17 win at the EHF EURO 2020 and a 29:18 win in the preliminary round at Spain 2021.

On the other hand, France, who retained most of their core from the side which finished fourth at the EHF EURO 2020, but have doubts over centre back Grace Zaadi, who suffered an injury in September and is a doubt for Denmark/Norway/Sweden 2023, have never met Iceland in a competitive match at a major international competition so far.

However, all the five mutual matches played in the EHF EURO Qualifiers between 2014 and 2019 have been snatched by France, with the smallest gap coming in 2014 on home court, 24:19. On average, France have won their matches against Iceland by an average of 8.2 goals per match.

The experience of players like Ana Gros and Tjaša Stanko, as well as some excellent performances in the EHF Champions League Women for Krim Mercator Ljubljana, a team flush with Slovenian players, makes Dragan Adzic’s side as one of the contenders in this group, thanks to their excellent defence and grit.

However, they do not have a positive balance against Angola, winning only once in four matches against the African powerhouse. Their win came at Germany 2017, 32:25 in the preliminary round, with the two losses coming at Russia 2005, 27:28, and at Japan 2019, 24:33.

In fact, this will be the third consecutive edition when the two teams are meeting at the IHF Women’s World Championship, after their mutual encounter at Spain 2021 finished in a 25:25 stalemate, which saw Slovenia progressing to the main round and Angola eliminated from the preliminary round for the first time since 2003.

Angola also have won their only match against Iceland, 28:24, in the preliminary round at Brazil 2021, when the European side made their first and only appearance so far in the world handball flagship competition.

The African side will be buoyed by their qualification for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, sealed in the African Olympic Qualification Tournament in October, with three wins against Congo, Senegal and Cameroon, which instilled a morale boost for a side which will be making their 17th consecutive appearance at the IHF Women’s World Championship.

Iceland are the outsiders of the group, due to their lack of experience and depth, but they might cause Slovenia and the other opponents some trouble. They do have a negative head-to-head balance against all their opponents here, but they did secure two draws in the EHF EURO and the IHF Women’s World Championship Qualifiers in the past years.

Slovenia sealed their spot at Spain 2021 after a 45:35 aggregate win against Iceland, but Iceland clinched a 21:21 draw at home, with the other draw, 30:30, coming in the EHF EURO 2018 Qualifiers five years ago.