2018 finalists Hungary, Norway back into semi-finals

The 2022 World Championship in Celje is becoming an all-European affair: Netherlands celebrated a quarter-final win on Thursday evening over the last non-European contenders, Angola, to reach the last four for the first time at U20 worlds.

The other three semi-finalists are all (former) champions: Hungary (2018), Sweden (2012), and Norway (2010).

QUARTER-FINALS

• Netherlands had done the damage against Angola (29:21) already in the first half, building a healthy 17:9 lead before the break and avoiding troubles in the second half
• left back Kim Molenaar was the best scorer for the Dutch team with nine goals, raising her tally to 47 for the tournament – far more than any other player from teams competing in the semi-finals: Sweden’s Tyra Axnér is next with 33 goals
• Norway reached the semi-finals at U20 worlds for the seventh time, easily outscoring Switzerland 37:20 (15:9) in a one-sided contest
• led by nine goals from Clara Petersson, Sweden earned a remarkable 36:24 quarter-final win over Germany, having already led by 10 goals (21:11) at half-time
• Hungary were truly challenged for the first time this tournament: having won all previous matches by more than 10 goals, the titleholders found themselves 12:11 down at the break this time against Denmark, but still came away with a clear 31:26 win in the end, also thanks to seven goals from Blanka Kajdon

2022 IHF Women’s Junior (U20) World Championship

Quarter-finals, Thursday 30 June:
> Netherlands vs Angola 29:21 (17:9)
> Norway vs Switzerland 37:20 (15:9)
> Germany vs Sweden 24:36 (11:21)
> Hungary vs Denmark 31:26 (11:12)

Semi-finals, Friday 1 July:
> 18:15 CEST: Netherlands vs Norway
> 20:30 CEST: Sweden vs Hungary

Medal matches, Sunday 3 July:
> 15:00 CEST: Third place match
> 17:30 CEST: Final

Both semi-finals and the medal matches are scheduled in the Zlatorog arena in Celje and will be streamed live on the YouTube channel of the IHF, though geo-restrictions apply in certain countries.

photos © 2022 IHF | kolektiff