Serbia prove too strong for resilient Uruguay

Seen as clear favourites of their opening match, Serbia lived up to expectations, beating Uruguay and taking their first two points at the 2025 IHF Women's World Championship. The South American side, which returned at this level following a 14-year wait, fought hard for much of the encounter, but ultimately lost by 12 goals.

GROUP C
Serbia vs Uruguay 31:19 (15:10)

The South American side opened the score in this match, and Serbia struggled in attack before Dunja Radevic scored their first goal three and a half minutes into the match. Then the Balkan side stepped up and pulled clear at 4:1, but Uruguay showed resilience, as they capitalized on some Serbia's mistakes to draw level at 5:5.

Uruguay fought hard, but Serbia had more individual quality in their squad, and a 6:1 run handed them a 11:6 lead in the 23rd minute. The South Americans made a lot of turnovers, but they defended well, and a five-goal gap at the break gave them some hope for a second-half comeback.

In the end, it did not happen, but Uruguay should be credited, as they continued to put the pressure on their European rivals after the restart. While Serbia pulled away to a 19:11 lead in the 36th minute, the Uruguayans enjoyed another good spell and reduced the gap to five goals, 15:20.

However, Uruguay did not have enough energy for the rest of the game, and Serbia were fully dominant in the last 15 minutes. Right back Sara Garovic became their top scorer with six goals, but it was Uruguay's goalkeeper Agustina Modernell who was named the hummel Player of the Match, recording eight saves for a 31% save rate.

hummel Player of the Match: Agustina Modernell (Uruguay)