7th place play-off
Dominican Republic - Russia 22:25 (11:13)
In the seventh-place play-off, the Dominican Republic was defeated 22:25 (11:13) by the Russians who are ranked seventh, which is certainly a disappointing result for them. The Dominicans, in contrary, were celebrating their biggest success ever in the history of their young federation. The decision in this match, which was quite narrow for long periods, came between the 43rd and 47th minute, when the Russians extended their lead from 17:15 to 21:15. The host couldn’t catch up anymore. Best scorer of the match was Carolina Lopez from the Dominican Republic with ten goals.
5th place play-off
Spain - Denmark 27:20 (15:9)
Thanks to a well-deserved 27:20 victory, Spain reached the fifth place in the Women’s Youth WCh. The Spaniards were clearly the stronger team over the entire match, whereas the opponent had no chance to win. The Danes acted hastily and often didn’t have the right ideas to break through the powerful Spanish defense. Thus the victory of Spain was the logical result of the match. Already in the first half, the Spaniards gained the lead and caught up from 6:6 to 12:7 between the 17th and 25th minute. Best scorers of the match were Lara Gonzales from Spain and Katrin Heindahl from Denmark (both six goals).
Semifinal 1
Netherlands – Sweden 20:38 (7:17)
It seemed that the World Championship didn’t have a clear favorite after the defending champion Russia lost its quarterfinal, but things have changed after the first semifinal in Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic) on Wednesday night. Sweden defeated the highly-rated Dutch team 38:20 and played spectacular handball. Only at the beginning of the match, the Netherlands could defend against the Swedish attacks. After almost 15 minutes, the Swedish team led 8:6. But afterwards they played even more powerfully. Until the 33rd minute, they extended their lead to 20:7, whereas the Netherlands could only score one single goal during 18 minutes. The match was therefore decided very early. As a result, the Dutch women tried the impossible again, but on this day Sweden was simply too strong, which was also due to the outstanding Swedish goalkeeper, Emma Friedberg. Best scorers of the match were Angela Malenstein from the Netherlands (eight goals) and Marie Wall, Maria Adler and the outstanding Lina Larsson from Sweden (all seven goals). In the final, Sweden will play against Norway, whereas the Netherlands will compete against France.
Semifinal 2
Norway - France 22:18 (10:10)
It was really exciting! Norway won the second semifinal against France 22:18 and continues to dream of winning the title. Already in the first half, it seemed as if the Norwegians could extend their lead in an exciting and high-class match. After a balanced beginning, the Scandinavians gained a 10:6 lead. But the French women took advantage of a short period of weakness of the Norwegians and achieved a 10:10 draw. That was the end of the first half. Also in the second half, the match remained tight. First, Norway led 13:10, then France 17:15 (46th). Afterwards the French girls suddenly lost their concentration. Supported by a strong defensive, Norway scored seven goals in a row and led 22:17 four minutes before the end. The decision was made. Norway will now play in the final against Sweden in the Scandinavian duel, whereas France will compete against the Netherlands in the third-place play-off. Best scorers of the match were the Norwegian Carolina Smith (six goals) and the French player Audrey Bruneau (four goals).