The 2018 IHF Women’s Youth World Championship quarter-finals in Hall Legionow open with Hungary taking on Spain, with both teams aiming to reach the semi-finals for the first time in their history. The second quarter-final is a duel between the European champions and the Asian champions, Germany and Republic of Korea.

Before the quarter-finals, Norway will battle Croatia for 11th place and hosts Poland will play their last match at their home World Championship against Japan.

All matches will be streamed live on the official website.

 

Feature quarter-final: Hungary vs Spain – Thursday August 16, 18:30 local time

As the bronze medallists at the Women’s Under 17 European championship last summer, Hungary were always expected to reach the quarter-finals – and have been marked as one of the favoured sides to make it to the podium since the beginning of the Youth World Championship. They have reached the quarter-finals with only wins in their account, while Spain bring a different story into this stage of the competition.

Spain finished the preliminary round with two victories, against Kazakhstan and Tunisia, as well as a draw against Montenegro (now playing the President’s Cup). Spain booked their place in the eighth-finals after finishing in third position on the Group B table, then pulled off a great comeback in their first knock-out match, after trailing Norway through the first half and grabbing the momentum with 15 minutes remaining. They finished stronger than their Scandinavian rivals, securing a two-goal win, 20:18, off a goal from Janna Sobrepera Casol in the last minute.

“I cannot even express my happiness at the moment because Norway is one of the best teams of this generation. For the first time, this generation of players won against Norway in an official match. We feel fantastic,” said Spain coach Alfredo Rodriguez Alvarez after the win.

Neither Hungary nor Spain have ever made it to the semi-finals at the IHF Women’s Youth World Championship before, so whichever side wins will make history for their nation as they proceed to the penultimate match.

 

Quarter-final: Germany vs Republic of Korea – Thursday August 16, 20:45 local time

The second quarter-final in Hall Legionow sees an intercontinental battle of champions, as Women’s 17 EHF EURO 2017 winners Germany meet seven-times Asian Youth champions Republic of Korea. It will be an interesting clash of styles, with Germany bringing a tall, strong squad into the game against Korea’s traditionally fast, smaller side.

Both teams have enjoyed solid campaigns at Poland 2018, with Korea recording all victories so far while Germany were defeated only once in their six matches, versus Romania in the last preliminary round clash.

 

11/12 placement match: Norway vs Croatia – Thursday August 16, 14:00 local time

For Norway, the result at Poland 2018 is the second lowest in their history participating in the competition. At the previous edition of the Youth World Championship, the Scandinavian nation reached the medal round, so the play-off for 11th place is a disappointment.

Up till now, Croatia have steadily improved their results at the Youth World Championship. In 2012 they ranked 14th, in 2014 it was 10th and at Slovakia 2016 they placed eighth.

Both teams hoped for more at Poland 2018, and will aim to end their campaign with a positive result.

 

13/14 placement match: Poland vs Japan – Thursday August 16, 16:15 local time

Poland’s campaign at their home World Championship can only be considered a success, as they are making their debut in the competition. Their previous international experience was at the lower-tier Women’s 17 EHF Championship in 2017, so they had high hopes but realistic expectations for Poland 2018.

Poland will aim to finish with one more win in front of their home crowd in Hall Legionow, and it will be a new experience for the team to face the Asian style of play, as they played all European sides and one African squad (Angola) in the preliminary round.

Japan finished 17th at the previous edition of the Youth World Championship in 2016, so are also already assured of an improved position. While Japan enter the 13/14 match on the back of a loss to Asian champions Korea in the eighth-final, Poland were knocked out by 2016 runners-up Denmark.