Unbeaten Netherlands edge even closer to quarter-final spot 

The Netherlands extended their winning streak at Denmark/Norway/Sweden 2023 to five matches after beating Ukraine, 40:21, virtually securing a quarter-finals berth.

Main Round, Group IV
Ukraine vs Netherlands 21:40 (8:19)

It took some time for the Netherlands to start their engines and from the 10th minute on, it was game over for Ukraine, who had a good start of the match, boosted by Mariia Gladun's saves, taking a 3:1 lead.

However, once again, the Dutch side relied on their goalkeeper, this time Rinka Duijndam, who delivered some impressive saves and on Angela Malestein on the other side of the ball, who scored half of the Dutch goals in first 15 minutes, turning the tide and creating a five-goal lead, 8:3.

The inexperience of the Ukrainian team and one-on-one failed attempts which led to a series of turnovers, made way for another Dutch run, with the lead morphing from 11:4 to an unassailable 18:8 lead.

There were only glimpses of Ukraine during the match, mainly their effective wing players and some good shots from the back, but they could not keep up with the Netherlands throughout the match. The Dutch side delivered a plethora of goals from almost all of their outfield players, as all of them got a fair amount of time on the court, especially the ones who did not feature so much in the previous matches.

The Netherlands were on the verge of claiming their biggest win at the 26th IHF Women's World Championship, after previously beating Congo 40:20 but Karyna Kolodiuk and Olesia Diachenko stood in the way with two quick goals, cutting the lead to 19 goals, 40:21. But for the third time at Denmark/Norway/Sweden 2023 the Netherlands hit the 40-goal mark as Lois Abbingh, the hummel Player of the Match, scored a buzzer-beater goal.

The Netherlands are now virtually through to the quarter-finals, as only a miracle could see them out of contention. They will also finish on the first place of the group if they do not lose again Spain in the last match. Ukraine will seek consolation against Argentina, as both sides will seek to finish the IHF Women's World Championship on a high.

hummel Player of the Match: Lois Abbingh (Netherlands)