The 2018 IHF Women’s Youth (U18) World Championship 9-16 placement round opened with victories for Norway and Austria, who claimed 11th and 15th, respectively.

Poland followed with a win in their last match of their home world championship, versus Japan, securing 13th place and, in a dramatic finale, Romania beat France in a shoot-out to claim ninth place.

9/10 placement match: Romania vs France 30:29 (SO 4:3) (15:15) (11:11)
In the end it came down to three saves in a seven-metre shoot-out to separate these teams who were completely deadlocked throughout the 60 minutes of normal time.

As is the case for placement round matches, when the hour is up the match goes straight to a shoot-out and France's Ilona Di Rocco's saw her attempt - and the first French shot - saved by Romania goalkeeper Diana Cristiana Ciuica to make it 1:0 to the Romanians after Adina Gabriela Cace had cooly slotted home the first effort.

Six shots later, Monica Alexandra Barabas had a chance to win it for Romania, but Floriane Andre repelled her effort at the France goal. It was left to Clarisse Mairot to take the shoot-out to sudden death, but Andreea Bianca Chetraru made the save and Romania celebrated the end of their Poland 2018 campaign with a victory and ninth place.

Best players of the match: Andreea Cristina POPA (ROU), Pauletta FOPPA (FRA)

11/12 placement match: Norway vs Croatia 27:20 (13:8)

The first placement match of the day in Hall Legionow was all about Norway from start to finish, as the Scandinavian side created a 3:0 lead in the opening five minutes and never allowed their rivals to come close. Norway’s player of the match, goalkeeper Vilde Tornes Finneide, was a key part in their success. Standing behind strong 6-0 defence, she made 18 saves at 47%.

Second keeper Karmela Pokopac had her turn in goal after Petra Marinovic stood between Croatia’s posts throughout most of their Poland 2018 campaign. After replacing Marinovic, Pokopac had a great game at 40% – but Croatia’s main problem was at the other end of the court. Norway’s defence seemed more motivated than Croatia’s, as they kept Croatia to just eight goals in the first period for a difference of five at the break.

Norway maintained a tight hold on their advantage through the second half, and there was little doubt they would claim the victory at the final whistle. They reached a lead as clear as 10 goals, 24:14 in the 50th then 25:25 in the 53rd, before Croatia closed the gap a little ahead of the final whistle.

Players of the match:
Norway: Vilde Tornes Finneide
Croatia: Nika Vojnovic

13/14 placement match: Poland vs Japan 22:19 (12:10)

Following a defeat to Denmark in their eighth-final on Wednesday, it was clear some of Poland’s players had difficulty recovering from the disappointment to find their best in their placement match. However, the hosts managed to secure a victory to finish their home World Championship campaign, mainly thanks to their solid defence.

All three of Poland’s goalkeepers contributed to the win, with Barbara Zima in particular playing a strong game, finishing with a 42% save rate after joining her team on court for the final 18 minutes of the match. Japan’s players, who favour a fast, agile game, had trouble against the strong, tall 6-0 defence. After a two-goal scoreline at the break, Poland moved ahead to a decisive lead of five goals, 16:11 in the 42nd minute, before Japan staged a comeback.

During a run of two-minute suspensions for the hosts and with the help of the seven-on-six tactic for a short period, the Asian side fought back to level at 18:18 with eight minutes on the clock. However, Poland managed to finish the game stronger, securing a three-goal win in the end.

Players of the match:
Poland: Lucyna Sobecka
Japan: Haruka Ueda

15/16 placement match: Austria vs Tunisia 32:25 (19:12)

For both teams, history was made with their ranking - even before the game as Austria were appearing at Poland 2018 after Brazil had to withdraw, and Tunisia reached the second round of a world championship as the first women's team to do so from their country.

With just 16 minutes gone and his side 9:5 down, Tunisia coach Moez Ben Amor took his first time-out but it did little against a fast-paced team on the break who made their chances count. Nina Neidhart top-scored with eight for Austria, while Tunisia's break-out player and one of their stories from Poland 2018, also finished with eight strikes.

"It was a really good experience for us to play against an African team, because they have a totally different style," said Austria coach Helfried Müller.

"After nine match days all of our players were really tired," said Ben Amor. "We are very happy that we’ve passed through the preliminary round."

Best players of the match: Katarina PANDZA (AUT), Nada ZALFANI (TUN)