Women’s 20 World Championship set for throw-off in Debrecen

The IHF Women’s Junior (U20) World Championship is set to begin in Debrecen, Hungary on July 1, with a total of 24 teams fighting for the title. Current title holders Denmark will look to defend their place at the top amid tough competition from intercontinental opponents and 14 other European sides contesting the event.

11 of those European squads made their way to Hungary 2018 via the qualification tournaments in March this year: Croatia, Spain, Germany, Iceland, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia and Sweden. Alongside those teams, four other nations from Europe were directly qualified.

Hungary took the place as hosts, while Russia qualified as reigning youth world champions. France and Denmark booked the two places top-ranked sides at the Women’s 19 EHF EURO 2017, which saw France raise the trophy, Russia finish with silver and Denmark take bronze. As Russia were already qualified as of the summer of 2016, when they raised the U18 World Championship trophy in Slovakia, Denmark were next in line from the EURO ranking.

The remaining teams, travelling from Asia, Africa and Pan America for what is the second Women’s Junior World Championship to be played in Hungary (also 2001), all qualified through their own continental championships. Brazil are the Pan American champions, Angola are the African title holders, and South Korea are the Asian champions. All three are the record title holders in this age category in their continents.

All matches at Hungary 2018 will be played in Főnix Hall and Hódos Imre Sports Hall, Debrecen, with live streaming available here. The 24 teams will each play five preliminary round games, after which the top four sides in each group proceed to the knock-out round, beginning with the LAst 16 matches on 10 July. The bottom two teams in each group will play the President’s Cup to determine places 17 to 24.

The preliminary round groups are as follows:
Group A: Hungary, Norway, Montenegro, Brazil, Portugal, Ivory Coast
Group B: Russia, South Korea, Slovenia, China, Chile, Iceland
Group C: Denmark, Netherlands, Romania, Angola, Japan, Paraguay
Group D: France, Germany, Spain, Croatia, Egypt, Sweden

There will be a live score available on the IHF website and daily updates on IHF social media channels: Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.