France became the first to book a 23rd IHF Women’s World Championship quarter-final ticket in Arena Leipzig, surviving a strong challenge from Hungary to win by three goals. The silver medallists were first on the score board and never looked back, relying as usual on their solid 6-0 defence supported by their goalkeepers Amandine Leynaud and Cleopatre Darleux.

The second eighth-final in Leipzig saw a clear eight-goal win for Sweden against a fighting Slovenia team, who are playing their first World Championship since 2005. Slovenia and Hungary will now contest the placement round 9-16 matches, while Sweden and France move on to the quarter-finals. France will meet Montenegro in the next stage, and Sweden will play Denmark.

 

EIGHTH-FINALS
Hungary vs France 26:29 (11:14)

The 2016 Olympic silver medallists will continue their record of positive results at major international tournaments, as they progress to the quarter-final stage at Germany 2017 following a solid win against Hungary to open the knock-out phase in Leipzig. After claiming the historic medal at Rio 2016, France won bronze at the 2016 European championship in Sweden, and now keep their hopes of a third medal within 18 months alive.

“I'm very happy. Hungary were very strong in the defence however, our offence was good too,” said France coach Olivier Krumbholz. “We had a lot of young players in our defence and they were good. We hope to play even better in the coming matches.”

The opening five minutes of a match are rarely decisive, but France’s 3:1 advantage at that point proved crucial as there was little difference between the teams throughout the remainder of the game. The early two-goal edge helped France maintain the lead through the first half, though Hungary equalised more than once before the Olympic silver medallists pulled away again. Hungary’s Blanka Biro won the contest between the posts in the first half with a higher save rate (33%) than France’s Amandine Leynaud, but Leynaud was important nonetheless as she stopped two penalties that could have been an easy way for their opponents to level the game.

Leynaud was replaced by Cleopatre Darleux for the second period, coming back on to save her third penalty and maintain a perfect record on shots from the seven-metre line. The score for the second 30 minutes was equal (15:15), as Hungary kept pace with changing defensive systems – between 6-0 and 5-1. They could not close the gap however, and France kept control until the final buzzer.

“It was a good game. The French were strong and powerful, they deserved the victory. I'm very proud of my girls, but today France were smarter and better,” said Hungary coach Kim Rasmussen.

Player of the Match presented by adidas: Alexandra LACRABERE (FRA)

 

Sweden vs Slovenia 33:21 (18:12)

Sweden had little trouble defeating Slovenia in the second eighth-final of the day in Leipzig, as they took control from the first whistle and had their opponents in a dangerous position very early on. The Scandinavian team’s goalkeeper Johanna Bundsen caused significant trouble for Slovenia, with solid 6-0 defence in front of her that helped her record a 48% save rate for the match. Slovenia’s attack had no answer for Sweden’s defence, as their shots were often blocked while they looked for opportunities that were kept very limited by Sweden.

“I think we were the better team today. We knew it would be tough before the match. I’m very proud of how our tactics were there 100% –  especially in defence,” said Sweden coach Henrik Signell.

Slovenia could thank five goals from Alja Koren and three from Ana Gros in the first half for keeping them in the game, as the score line at the break did not reflect the significantly better organised attack from Sweden. In the second half any hope of a comeback for Slovenia was quickly diminished. Sweden hit a 10-goal lead in the 42nd minute, at which point it was clear that Slovenia simply did not have the power to decrease the score line.

“They were the much better team today, so it is a well-deserved quarter-final place,” said Gros after the match. “We have a lot of young players who never even played an international match before. It doesn’t matter the last game – we got a lot of experience here. I think we have a great future in Slovenian women’s handball.”

Player of the Match presented by adidas: Johanna BUNDSEN (SWE)