This will be the fifth consecutive appearance for Croatia at the IHF Women’s Youth (U18) World Championship – yet the European side have been somewhat stuck in purgatory, finishing eighth, 10th, 12th and 14th in the previous four appearances.

As the focus shifted on young talent, new players have popped up over the last few years and their performances at the W17 EHF EURO 2021 have been impressive, especially with wins against Sweden and Montenegro.

Only Denmark and the Republic of Korea have managed to qualify for every edition of the IHF Women’s Youth (U18) World Championship alongside France, but “Les Bleuettes” are the only side from those that have taken the court every time and still miss out on a medal. They came agonisingly close in 2006, 2008 and 2010, when they finished fourth each time, but their last tournaments have been somewhat of a hit and miss, as they finished 10th in the last edition, in 2018.

No team has won more medals at the IHF Women’s Youth (U18) World Championship than Denmark – five – but the Scandinavian side tied their worst placement ever in the competition four years ago, in 2018, when they finished sixth.

Germany’s history at the IHF Women’s Youth (U18) World Championship had a see-saw pattern over the years, as they either contended for the title or collapsed entirely, finishing in 14th place in 2010 and 11th in 2016.

However, this generation has been truly special, as they sealed the silver medal at the W17 EHF EURO 2021, dropping only two games – one of them being the final against Hungary (19:25), where they only managed to stay close to the champions for the first half.