Hungary won the title when the event was last held in 2018, and the next generation is proving that they are just as strong. Hungary have won their five matches so far – three in the preliminary round and two in the main round – and each of them by a margin of more than 10 goals.
Netherlands and Norway also reached the quarter-finals unbeaten but both had one draw along the way: Netherlands dropped a point against Slovakia; Norway drew with France, who surprisingly failed to get out of the main round.
Switzerland, Germany, Sweden, and Denmark are also still in the race for the trophy, while Angola as the only non-European contenders left in the competition complete the line-up for the quarter-finals on Thursday. A total of 18 European teams were at the start.
PRELIMINARY ROUND/MAIN ROUND
- Hungary enter the quarter-finals with a stunning goal difference of +103 after five matches, meaning they have won their games by a margin of more than 20 goals on average
- Hungary next meet Denmark, who failed to win a match in the main round but still edged Montenegro and France in the final standings of their group
- Hungary and Denmark are the last two winners of the event – in 2018 and 2016, respectively
- Netherlands defeated Sweden 23:22 in their last main round game to set up a quarter-final against Angola, who surprisingly won their group in the preliminary round ahead of Czech Republic and Romania, before defeating hosts Slovenia 25:21 in the main round
- Sweden still progressed after their defeat against Netherlands and will meet Germany for a place in the semi-finals; Germany also have four wins and one defeat so far – 24:20 against Czech Republic, who just missed the quarter-finals based on goal difference
- Norway had a crucial 35:32 win over Denmark to secure top spot in their main round group; next up are Switzerland, who upset Croatia 22:21 in their preliminary round closer to advance
2022 IHF Women’s Junior (U20) World Championship
Quarter-finals, Thursday 30 June:
> 18:15 CEST: Netherlands vs Angola
> 18:15 CEST: Norway vs Switzerland
> 20:30 CEST: Germany vs Sweden
> 20:30 CEST: Hungary vs Denmark
Semi-finals, Friday 1 July:
> Netherlands/Angola vs Norway/Switzerland
> Germany/Sweden vs Hungary/Denmark
The quarter-finals take place in the Zlatorog and Golovec arenas in Celje and will be streamed live on the YouTube channel of the IHF, though geo-restrictions apply in certain countries. The final is scheduled for Sunday 3 July at 17:30 CEST.
photo © 2022 Anze Malovrh | kolektiff
