Main Round Group II: All-Scandinavian battle for a quarter-finals berth

While Romania and the Netherlands will be heavily favoured against Puerto Rico and Kazakhstan in the first two games on Saturday in Castelló, all eyes will be on the heavyweight clash between Norway and Sweden, who could decide the first team in the group which qualifies for the quarter-finals.

The two Scandinavian sides know each other all too well, with Norway holding the head-to-head record, but the attacking powerhouses at Spain 2021 could provide a vintage match, despite Norway winning all four games by at least 11 goals in the 25th IHF Women’s World Championship. 

Romania vs Puerto Rico 15:30 CET

Romania’s chances to proceed to the quarter-finals of the IHF Women’s World Championship for the first time since Denmark 2015 took a heavy hit after the disappointing one-goal defeat against the Netherlands, 30:31, on Thursday.

Adrian Vasile’s side only have slim chances of progressing to the next phase of the competition, but Romania are eyeing their third big win in the tournament, after disposing of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 39:11, and Kazakhstan, 38:17.

The objective of finishing between the top-10 teams at Spain 2021 is quite unassailable for Romania, yet the learning curve they have been on is somewhat satisfying for both the players and Vasile.

“I am proud of what we showed against the Netherlands, because we are a new team and we are really getting to grips with each other now. Therefore, we must be happy with our performances,” said team captain Crina Pintea.

The Romanian coach agreed.

“The games against strong teams, like the Netherlands, need a bit of experience to be closed down with a win. So, despite us not being the team that took the two points, I am satisfied with the display we put on and it will surely help us to get better and better,” said Vasile.

The Romanian side, which will likely end up between 13th and 16th place, which will be one of their worst-ever finishes at the IHF Women’s World Championship, is heavily favoured against Puerto Rico, who conceded a 40-goal loss against the Netherlands, a 38-goal loss against Sweden and a 36-goal loss against Norway.

The North America and the Caribbean Women’s Championship winners have conceded the most goals at Spain 2021, 170, in the first four games, and were thoroughly outplayed by the European powerhouses they met.

“The scores are not such a big problem, because we really showed what we stand for and how can we improve,” said Puerto Rico’s coach, Camilo Estevez, after the 7:43 loss against Norway on Thursday.

Romania and Puerto Rico have met only once in the competition, in the preliminary round of Denmark 2015, when the European side took a convincing 47:14 win, one of their largest in history at the IHF Women’s World Championship.

Kazakhstan vs Netherlands 18:00 CET

The Netherlands avoided a costly mistake in their first game of the main round in Castelló on Thursday, when they survived a late-gasp comeback from Romania, who erased a six-goal deficit, only to come up short at the final whistle, after Dutch goalkeeper Tess Wester stopped right wing Laura Moisa in two consecutive one-on-one situations.

The two points were exactly what mattered for the reigning champions, but they are locked in a tough battle against Sweden and Norway to progress to the quarter-finals. With only two berths available, it might come down to the goal difference between the Dutch side and Sweden, which now favours the Scandinavian side, +73, as opposed to +41 for the Netherlands.

“We need to take the positive things we did against Romania and use them into our next games, against Kazakhstan and Norway,” said Dutch coach Monique Tijsterman, after the win against Romania.

However, the reigning champions came up short in their last two games in the tournament, a 31:31 draw against Sweden and the 31:30 win against Romania, but will have time to work out their issues when they meet Kazakhstan on Saturday.

The Asian side progressed to the main round after their win against the Islamic Republic of Iran, but were thoroughly dominated by the European sides they faced, losing 18:46 to Norway, 17:38 to Romania and 20:55 to Sweden, in their first game of the main round.

Left back Irina Alexandrova has been nothing short of superb for Kazakhstan, scoring 30 goals, 34% of her side’s goals at Spain 2021, and was identified as their top player by the opposing defences, who used a man-to-man coverage on her throughout the games.

The Netherlands have won their only game at the IHF Women’s World Championship against Kazakhstan, 32:20, in the preliminary round at Brazil 2011, as the Asian side has never won against a European team in the world handball flagship competition.

Sweden vs Norway 20:30 CET

Norway have started Spain 2021 flawlessly, winning all four games by a margin of at least 11 goals, posting the biggest goal difference in the competition, +107 goals.

The best attack in the competition, Sweden, who have scored 180 goals, and the third best attack at the 25th IHF Women’s World Championship, Norway (163 goals) will face off in Castelló, with the winner virtually securing a quarter-finals berth.

As the schedule grows stronger for Norway, so will their expectations, with the room for mistake now even lower, despite big wins in their first four games.

“We are facing tougher competition in the next games, with Sweden and the Netherlands, so we will be tested if we want to get to the quarter-finals,” said Norway’s coach, Thorir Hergeirsson.

Sweden are a well-known opponent to the current European champions, as the two teams have met frequently in the past decade, both in official and in friendly matches. The head-to-head record in competitive games tilts Norway’s way, with Thorir Hergeirsson’s side winning 13 of their 16 mutual matches, but only one of those wins came at the IHF Women’s World Championship.

In fact, at Germany 2017, it was Sweden who took an unexpected 31:28 win against Norway in the preliminary round, with a superb second half comeback. Now, the stakes are even higher with neither Norway nor Sweden affording a loss in the crunch match.

The European champions will surely be buoyed by their large win in the bronze-medal game at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 last August, when Norway secured a big 36:19 win, the largest-ever between the two sides, to finish third in the competition.

However, for Sweden, that will be water under the bridge, as the Scandinavian side have definitely looked sharp and walked the walk at Spain 2021, impressing with their speed and the accuracy of the shots, despite dropping a point against the Netherlands in the last game of the preliminary round. 

“Norway do not slow down at all, because they have excellent depth and a very good squad,” said Sweden’s coach, Tomas Axner.

“We need to be ready for Norway and I am sure we will,” added Axner.

Norway will have to keep a close eye on the top scorer at Spain 2021, right wing Nathalie Hagman, who scored 48 goals in her first four games, including two 19-goal outings against Puerto Rico and Kazakhstan, who just fell short of the all-time record of goals scored in a single match by a player, 21, set by North Macedonian back Natalia Todorovska at Russia 2005. 

However, Sweden’s preparations for the game have been disrupted by an injury to influential defender Linn Blohm, who sprained her ankle in the closing minutes of the game against Kazakhstan. Blohm will be evaluated on Saturday, but Sweden hope that she will be able to take the court.