2019 World Women's Handball Championship

2019 edition of the World Women's Handball Championship

2019 World Women's Handball Championship
Tournament details

Host country	Japan
Venue(s)	5 (in 3 host cities)
Dates	30 November – 15 December
Teams	24 (from 6 confederations)
Final positions
Champions	Netherlands (1st title)
Runner-up	Spain
Third place	Russia
Fourth place	Norway
Tournament statistics
Matches played	96
Goals scored	5,179 (53.95 per match)
Attendance	315,748 (3,289 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Lois Abbingh (71 goals)
Best player	Estavana Polman
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The 2019 IHF World Women's Handball Championship, the 24th event hosted by the International Handball Federation, was held in Japan from 30 November to 15 December 2019.^[1]

The Netherlands won their first title after defeating Spain in the final.^[2]

Venues

Kumamoto region was entrusted with the organization of the World Championship. Additionally the Japanese Organizing Committee will have a venue in Tokyo in order to prepare for the 2020 Olympic Games. Kumamoto has had a lot of experience with handball tournaments, hosting the 1997 Men's World Championships.^[3]

Higashi-ku	Minami-ku		Nishi-ku
Park Dome Kumamoto Capacity: 10,000	Aqua Dome Kumamoto Capacity: 6,400		Kumamoto Prefectural Gymnasium Capacity: 3,400

Yatsushiro		Yamaga
Yatsushiro General Gymnasium Capacity: 2,500		Yamaga City Overall Gymnasium Capacity: 2,100

Qualification

Competition	Dates	Host	Vacancies	Qualified
Host nation	28 October 2013	Doha	1	Japan
2017 World Championship	1–17 December 2017	Germany	1	France
2018 South and Central American Championship	29 November – 4 December 2018	Maceió	2	Argentina Brazil
2018 European Championship	29 November – 16 December 2018	France	3	Netherlands Romania Russia
2018 Asian Championship	30 November – 9 December 2018	Japan	4^[1]	Australia China Kazakhstan South Korea
2018 African Championship	2–12 December 2018	Brazzaville	3	Angola DR Congo Senegal
2019 Nor.Ca. Championship	28 May – 2 June 2019^[4]	Mexico City	1	Cuba
European qualification	23 November 2018 – 6 June 2019	Various	9	Denmark Germany Hungary Montenegro Norway Serbia Slovenia Spain Sweden

^ 1. If countries from Oceania (Australia or New Zealand) participating in the Asian Championships finished within the top 5, they qualified for the World Championships. If they placed sixth or lower, the place would have been transferred to the wild card spot.^[5]

Qualified teams

Country	Qualified as	Qualification date	Previous appearances in tournament^[a]
Japan	Host	28 October 2013	18 (1962, 1965, 1971, 1973, 1975, 1986, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017)
France	Defending World Champion	17 December 2017	13 (1986, 1990, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017)
Brazil	Top two at the 2018 South and Central American Championship	3 December 2018	12 (1995, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017)
Argentina	Top two at the 2018 South and Central American Championship	3 December 2018	9 (1999, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017)
China	Semifinalist of 2018 Asian Championship	4 December 2018	15 (1986, 1990, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017)
Kazakhstan	Semifinalist of 2018 Asian Championship	4 December 2018	4 (2007, 2009, 2011, 2015)
South Korea	Semifinalist of 2018 Asian Championship	4 December 2018	17 (1978, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017)
Australia	Fifth place of 2018 Asian Championship	8 December 2018	7 (1999, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013)
Senegal	Finalist of 2018 African Championship	10 December 2018	debut
Angola	Finalist of 2018 African Championship	10 December 2018	14 (1990, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017)
DR Congo	Third place of 2018 African Championship	12 December 2018	2 (2013, 2015)
Netherlands	Semifinalist of 2018 European Championship	12 December 2018	11 (1971, 1973, 1978, 1986, 1999, 2001, 2005, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017)
Romania	Semifinalist of 2018 European Championship	12 December 2018	23 (1957, 1962, 1965, 1971, 1973, 1975, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017)
Russia	Semifinalist of 2018 European Championship	12 December 2018	12 (1993, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2015, 2017)
Cuba	2019 Nor.Ca. Champion	2 June 2019	3 (1999, 2011, 2015)
Hungary	European playoff winner	5 June 2019	21 (1957, 1962, 1965, 1971, 1973, 1975, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2013, 2015, 2017)
Denmark	European playoff winner	5 June 2019	19 (1957, 1962, 1965, 1971, 1973, 1975, 1990, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017)
Germany	European playoff winner	5 June 2019	11 (1993, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017)
Norway	European playoff winner	5 June 2019	19 (1971, 1973, 1975, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017)
Montenegro	European playoff winner	5 June 2019	4 (2011, 2013, 2015, 2017)
Sweden	European playoff winner	6 June 2019	9 (1957, 1990, 1993, 1995, 2001, 2009, 2011, 2015, 2017)
Serbia	European playoff winner	6 June 2019	3 (2013, 2015, 2017)
Slovenia	European playoff winner	6 June 2019	5 (1997, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2017)
Spain	European playoff winner	6 June 2019	9 (1993, 2001, 2003, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017)

^ Bold indicates champion for that year, Italics indicates host for that year.

Draw

The draw was held on 21 June 2019 in Tokyo, Japan.^[6]^[7]

Seeding

The seeding was announced on 19 June 2019.^[8] As organizer, Japan had the right to choose their group.

Pot 1	Pot 2	Pot 3	Pot 4	Pot 5	Pot 6
France Russia Netherlands Romania	Norway Sweden Hungary Denmark	Montenegro Japan Germany Serbia	Spain Slovenia South Korea China	Brazil Angola Senegal Argentina	Kazakhstan Cuba DR Congo Australia

Referees

17 referee pairs were selected.^[9]

Referees
Algeria	Yousef Belkhiri Sid Ali Hamidi
Argentina	María Paolantoni Mariana García
China	Cheng Yufeng Zhou Yunlei
Croatia	Davor Lončar Zoran Lončar
Denmark	Karina Christiansen Line Hansen
Egypt	Yasmina El-Saied Heidy El-Saied
France	Charlotte Bonaventura Julie Bonaventura
Germany	Maike Merz Tanja Schilha
Japan	Koyoshi Hizaki Tomokazu Ikebuchi

Referees
Romania	Cristina Năstase Simona Stancu
Russia	Viktoria Alpaidze Tatiana Berezkina
Slovenia	Bojan Lah David Sok
Serbia	Vanja Antić Jelena Jakovljević
South Korea	Koo Bon-ok Lee Se-ok
Spain	Ignacio García Andreu Marín
Tunisia	Samir Krichen Samir Makhlouf
Uruguay	Mathias Sosa Cristian Lemes

Squads

Each team consisted of up to 28 players, of whom 16 may be fielded for each match.

Preliminary round

The schedule was announced on 3 July 2019.^[10]

Tiebreakers

In the group stage, teams were ranked according to points (2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). After completion of the group stage, if two or more teams had scored the same number of points, the ranking was determined as follows:^[11]

Highest number of points in matches between the teams directly involved;
Superior goal difference in matches between the teams directly involved;
Highest number of goals scored in matches between the teams directly involved (or in the away match in case of a two-team tie);
Superior goal difference in all matches of the group;
Highest number of plus goals in all matches of the group;

If the ranking of one of these teams is determined, the above criteria are consecutively followed until the ranking of all teams is determined. If no ranking can be determined, a decision shall be obtained by IHF through drawing of lots.

During the group stage, only criteria 4–5 applied to determine the provisional ranking of teams.

All times are local (UTC+9).

Group A

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Netherlands	5	4	1	178	134	+44	8^[a]	Main round
2	Norway	5	4	1	169	115	+54	8^[a]
3	Serbia	5	3	2	155	143	+12	6
4	Angola	5	2	3	150	151	−1	4^[b]
5	Slovenia	5	2	3	142	150	−8	4^[b]
6	Cuba	5	0	5	122	223	−101	0

Source: IHF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) goal difference.
Notes:

^ ^a ^b Netherlands 30–28 Norway
^ ^a ^b Slovenia 24–33 Angola

30 November 2019 15:00	Serbia	32–25	Angola	Aqua Dome Kumamoto, Minami-ku Attendance: 3,605 Referees: García, Paolantoni (ARG)
	Nikolić 7	(16–12)	Guialo 5
	2× 4×	Report	1× 4×

30 November 2019 18:00	Netherlands	26–32	Slovenia	Aqua Dome Kumamoto, Minami-ku Attendance: 2,864 Referees: Krichen, Makhlouf (TUN)
	Abbingh, Polman 5	(14–15)	Stanko 12
	1× 3×	Report	1× 4×

30 November 2019 20:30	Norway	47–16	Cuba	Aqua Dome Kumamoto, Minami-ku Attendance: 1,871 Referees: El-Saied, El-Saied (EGY)
	Herrem, Løke 8	(25–9)	Céspedes, Lusson 3
	3×	Report	1×

2 December 2019 12:30	Cuba	27–46	Serbia	Aqua Dome Kumamoto, Minami-ku Attendance: 5,570 Referees: Krichen, Makhlouf (TUN)
	Rizo 6	(11–25)	three players 6
	5×	Report	1× 4×

2 December 2019 15:00	Angola	28–35	Netherlands	Aqua Dome Kumamoto, Minami-ku Attendance: 4,690 Referees: Belkhiri, Hamidi (ALG)
	Carlos 9	(12–17)	Abbingh 11
	1× 5×	Report	2× 5×

2 December 2019 20:30	Slovenia	20–36	Norway	Aqua Dome Kumamoto, Minami-ku Attendance: 1,680 Referees: Bonaventura, Bonaventura (FRA)
	Gros 9	(12–13)	Røsberg Jacobsen 8
	3×	Report	3×

3 December 2019 15:00	Netherlands	51–23	Cuba	Aqua Dome Kumamoto, Minami-ku Attendance: 5,060 Referees: García, Paolantoni (ARG)
	Malestein 11	(22–11)	Céspedes 4
	1× 5×	Report	6×

3 December 2019 18:00	Slovenia	24–33	Angola	Aqua Dome Kumamoto, Minami-ku Attendance: 2,280 Referees: Koo, Lee (KOR)
	Stanko 9	(12–16)	Carlos, Kassoma 6
	2× 3×	Report	5×

3 December 2019 20:30	Norway	28–25	Serbia	Aqua Dome Kumamoto, Minami-ku Attendance: 1,970 Referees: Kuttler, Merz (GER)
	Hegh Arntzen, Oftedal 7	(13–12)	Liščević 6
	3× 4×	Report	1× 8× 1×

5 December 2019 15:00	Cuba	26–39	Slovenia	Aqua Dome Kumamoto, Minami-ku Attendance: 5,520 Referees: Năstase, Stancu (ROU)
	Rizo 7	(15–17)	Stanko 11
	2× 2×	Report	3× 5×

5 December 2019 18:00	Serbia	23–36	Netherlands	Aqua Dome Kumamoto, Minami-ku Attendance: 2,460 Referees: Bonaventura, Bonaventura (FRA)
	three players 6	(12–20)	Polman 8
	4×	Report	2× 4×

5 December 2019 20:30	Norway	30–24	Angola	Aqua Dome Kumamoto, Minami-ku Attendance: 1,870 Referees: García, Paolantoni (ARG)
	Hegh Arntzen 6	(13–12)	Carlos 6
	3× 2×	Report	1× 5×

6 December 2019 15:00	Serbia	29–27	Slovenia	Aqua Dome Kumamoto, Minami-ku Attendance: 4,680 Referees: Makhlouf, Krichen (TUN)
	Pop-Lazić 8	(12–11)	Stanko 10
	1× 4×	Report	2× 2×

6 December 2019 18:00	Angola	40–30	Cuba	Aqua Dome Kumamoto, Minami-ku Attendance: 2,680 Referees: Belkhiri, Hamidi (ALG)
	Guialo 7	(20–16)	Lusson 7
	6×	Report	1× 6×

6 December 2019 20:30	Netherlands	30–28	Norway	Aqua Dome Kumamoto, Minami-ku Attendance: 3,380 Referees: García, Marín (ESP)
	Abbingh 6	(14–18)	Oftedal 9
	2× 1×	Report	2×

Group B

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	South Korea	5	3	2	0	149	124	+25	8	Main round
2	Germany	5	3	1	1	142	111	+31	7^[a]
3	Denmark	5	3	1	1	132	100	+32	7^[a]
4	France	5	2	1	2	137	100	+37	5
5	Brazil	5	1	1	3	119	115	+4	3
6	Australia	5	0	0	5	53	182	−129	0

Source: IHF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) goal difference.
Notes:

^ ^a ^b Denmark 25–26 Germany

30 November 2019 15:00	Germany	30–24	Brazil	Yamaga City Overall Gymnasium, Yamaga Attendance: 1,300 Referees: García, Marín (ESP)
	Behnke 6	(14–11)	Nascimento 5
	1× 4×	Report	1× 1×

30 November 2019 18:00	France	27–29	South Korea	Yamaga City Overall Gymnasium, Yamaga Attendance: 1,450 Referees: Sosa, Lemes (URU)
	Zaadi 5	(13–12)	Ryu 12
	2× 5×	Report	1× 2× 1×

30 November 2019 20:30	Denmark	37–12	Australia	Kumamoto Prefectural Gymnasium, Nishi-ku Attendance: 1,400 Referees: Cheng, Zhou (CHN)
	Østergaard 6	(17–4)	Potocki 4
	2× 2×	Report	8×

1 December 2019 15:00	Brazil	19–19	France	Yamaga City Overall Gymnasium, Yamaga Attendance: 1,580 Referees: Lah, Sok (SVN)
	four players 3	(7–10)	three players 3
	3×	Report	2× 5× 1×

1 December 2019 18:00	Australia	8–34	Germany	Yamaga City Overall Gymnasium, Yamaga Attendance: 1,450 Referees: Hizaki, Ikebuchi (JPN)
	Potocki 3	(4–16)	Lauenroth 6
	2×	Report	1× 6×

1 December 2019 20:30	South Korea	26–26	Denmark	Kumamoto Prefectural Gymnasium, Nishi-ku Attendance: 1,380 Referees: Alpaidze, Berezkina (RUS)
	Ryu 9	(13–10)	Højlund 4
	1× 5×	Report	1× 6× 1×

3 December 2019 15:00	South Korea	33–27	Brazil	Yamaga City Overall Gymnasium, Yamaga Attendance: 1,750 Referees: Hamidi, Belkhiri (ALG)
	Ryu, Shin 8	(16–14)	Amorim 9
	2× 6×	Report	2× 3×

3 December 2019 19:00	France	46–7	Australia	Yamaga City Overall Gymnasium, Yamaga Attendance: 1,540 Referees: El-Saied, El-Saied (EGY)
	Coatanea 7	(21–3)	Potocki 4
	1× 2×	Report	1× 6×

3 December 2019 20:30	Denmark	25–26	Germany	Kumamoto Prefectural Gymnasium, Nishi-ku Attendance: 1,000 Referees: Sosa, Lemes (URU)
	K. Jørgensen 5	(11–13)	Behnke 7
	1× 2×	Report	2× 5×

4 December 2019 15:00	Australia	17–34	South Korea	Yamaga City Overall Gymnasium, Yamaga Attendance: 1,590 Referees: Lončar, Lončar (CRO)
	Potocki 10	(10–18)	Lee 5
	1× 6×	Report	3×

4 December 2019 19:00	Germany	25–27	France	Yamaga City Overall Gymnasium, Yamaga Attendance: 1,950 Referees: García, Marín (ESP)
	Bölk 8	(12–14)	Zaadi 4
	2× 1×	Report	1× 2×

4 December 2019 20:30	Denmark	24–18	Brazil	Kumamoto Prefectural Gymnasium, Nishi-ku Attendance: 1,100 Referees: García, Paolantoni (ARG)
	S. Jørgensen 6	(11–9)	Vieira 5
	1× 3×	Report	5×

6 December 2019 15:00	Brazil	31–9	Australia	Yamaga City Overall Gymnasium, Yamaga Attendance: 1,490 Referees: Cheng, Zhou (CHN)
	Belo 5	(15–5)	Potocki 7
	1× 7× 1×	Report	2×

6 December 2019 19:00	Germany	27–27	South Korea	Yamaga City Overall Gymnasium, Yamaga Attendance: 2,100 Referees: Alpaidze, Berezkina (RUS)
	Behnke 7	(15–14)	Ryu 10
	2× 6×	Report	2×

6 December 2019 20:30	France	18–20	Denmark	Kumamoto Prefectural Gymnasium, Nishi-ku Attendance: 1,600 Referees: Lah, Sok (SVN)
	Lacrabère 6	(7–9)	S. Jørgensen 7
	3× 4×	Report	6×

Group C

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Spain	5	5	0	159	103	+56	10	Main round
2	Montenegro	5	4	1	137	123	+14	8
3	Romania	5	3	2	121	129	−8	6
4	Hungary	5	2	3	145	117	+28	4
5	Senegal	5	1	4	119	137	−18	2
6	Kazakhstan	5	0	5	92	164	−72	0

Source: IHF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) goal difference.

30 November 2019 15:00	Montenegro	29–25	Senegal	Yatsushiro General Gymnasium, Yatsushiro Attendance: 1,900 Referees: Kuttler, Merz (GER)
	Jauković 7	(14–15)	Keïta, Sankharé 5
	3× 5×	Report	1× 2×

30 November 2019 18:00	Romania	16–31	Spain	Kumamoto Prefectural Gymnasium, Nishi-ku Attendance: 1,300 Referees: Bonaventura, Bonaventura (FRA)
	Neagu 6	(9–16)	Cabral, Fernández 6
	2× 7×	Report	1× 5×

30 November 2019 18:00	Hungary	39–15	Kazakhstan	Yatsushiro General Gymnasium, Yatsushiro Attendance: 1,800 Referees: Hizaki, Ikebuchi (JPN)
	Márton, Schatzl 7	(22–8)	Abilda 5
	1×	Report

1 December 2019 15:00	Kazakhstan	21–30	Montenegro	Yatsushiro General Gymnasium, Yatsushiro Attendance: 1,910 Referees: El-Saied, El-Saied (EGY)
	Alexandrova 5	(11–13)	Radičević 9
	3×	Report	1× 5×

1 December 2019 18:00	Spain	29–25	Hungary	Kumamoto Prefectural Gymnasium, Nishi-ku Attendance: 1,600 Referees: Christiansen, Hansen (DEN)
	Cabral 7	(18–13)	Tóvizi 5
	1× 4× 1×	Report	1× 5×

1 December 2019 18:00	Senegal	24–29	Romania	Yatsushiro General Gymnasium, Yatsushiro Attendance: 1,850 Referees: Koo, Lee (KOR)
	three players 6	(12–15)	Neagu 13
	2× 3×	Report	4× 7×

3 December 2019 15:00	Hungary	24–25	Montenegro	Kumamoto Prefectural Gymnasium, Nishi-ku Attendance: 1,600 Referees: García, Marín (ESP)
	Schatzl 7	(12–13)	Radičević 8
	2× 2×	Report	1× 7× 1×

3 December 2019 15:00	Spain	29–20	Senegal	Yatsushiro General Gymnasium, Yatsushiro Attendance: 1,950 Referees: Lah, Sok (SVN)
	Cabral 8	(14–13)	Camara 6
	3× 5×	Report	4×

3 December 2019 19:00	Romania	22–20	Kazakhstan	Yatsushiro General Gymnasium, Yatsushiro Attendance: 1,810 Referees: Cheng, Zhou (CHN)
	Pintea 5	(14–11)	Khardina 6
	1× 3×	Report	1×

4 December 2019 15:00	Montenegro	27–26	Romania	Kumamoto Prefectural Gymnasium, Nishi-ku Attendance: 1,700 Referees: Christiansen, Hansen (DEN)
	Radičević, Raičević 6	(11–12)	Neagu 11
	3× 7× 1×	Report	1× 7× 1×

4 December 2019 15:00	Kazakhstan	16–43	Spain	Yatsushiro General Gymnasium, Yatsushiro Attendance: 2,000 Referees: El-Saied, El-Saied (EGY)
	Abilda, Rejemetova 3	(11–19)	M. López 10
	5×	Report	4×

4 December 2019 19:00	Hungary	30–20	Senegal	Yatsushiro General Gymnasium, Yatsushiro Attendance: 2,020 Referees: Alpaidze, Berezkina (RUS)
	Kovács 6	(17–9)	Sankharé 6
	1× 2×	Report	1× 4×

6 December 2019 15:00	Senegal	30–20	Kazakhstan	Kumamoto Prefectural Gymnasium, Nishi-ku Attendance: 1,700 Referees: Hizaki, Ikebuchi (JPN)
	Camara 8	(15–7)	Abilda 7
	3×	Report	1× 6× 1×

6 December 2019 15:00	Montenegro	26–27	Spain	Yatsushiro General Gymnasium, Yatsushiro Attendance: 2,000 Referees: Bonaventura, Bonaventura (FRA)
	Radičević 7	(14–14)	Cabral, Pena 6
	7×	Report	2× 4×

6 December 2019 19:00	Romania	28–27	Hungary	Yatsushiro General Gymnasium, Yatsushiro Attendance: 2,500 Referees: Kuttler, Merz (GER)
	Neagu 10	(10–16)	Kovacsics, Szabó 6
	2× 6×	Report	2× 5×

Group D

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Russia	5	5	0	158	91	+67	10	Main round
2	Sweden	5	4	1	144	114	+30	8
3	Japan (H)	5	3	2	136	121	+15	6
4	Argentina	5	2	3	124	133	−9	4
5	DR Congo	5	1	4	86	137	−51	2
6	China	5	0	5	100	152	−52	0

Source: IHF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) goal difference.
(H) Hosts

30 November 2019 15:00	Japan	24–20	Argentina	Park Dome Kumamoto, Higashi-ku Attendance: 9,100 Referees: Năstase, Stancu (ROU)
	Ohyama 5	(14–10)	Karsten 7
	2× 9×	Report	2× 4×

30 November 2019 18:00	Russia	26–11	China	Park Dome Kumamoto, Higashi-ku Attendance: 4,900 Referees: Lončar, Lončar (CRO)
	Managarova 5	(13–6)	Chen 4
	3×	Report	4×

30 November 2019 20:30	Sweden	26–16	DR Congo	Park Dome Kumamoto, Higashi-ku Attendance: 2,230 Referees: Antić, Jakovljević (SRB)
	Lagerquist 6	(11–8)	Mwasesa 6
	3× 2×	Report	1× 3×

2 December 2019 15:00	Argentina	22–35	Russia	Park Dome Kumamoto, Higashi-ku Attendance: 6,628 Referees: Cheng, Zhou (CHN)
	three players 4	(12–17)	Gorshenina 5
	3× 1×	Report	1× 7× 1×

2 December 2019 18:00	DR Congo	16–28	Japan	Park Dome Kumamoto, Higashi-ku Attendance: 4,476 Referees: Lončar, Lončar (CRO)
	Ngo 4	(9–17)	Ohyama 6
	1× 2×	Report	4×

2 December 2019 20:30	China	19–32	Sweden	Park Dome Kumamoto, Higashi-ku Attendance: 2,100 Referees: Stancu, Năstase (ROU)
	Jin 5	(7–16)	three players 4
	1× 6×	Report	2× 6×

3 December 2019 14:30	Russia	34–13	DR Congo	Park Dome Kumamoto, Higashi-ku Attendance: 6,765 Referees: Hizaki, Ikebuchi (JPN)
	Managarova 6	(19–7)	Mwasesa 5
	4×	Report	5× 1×

3 December 2019 17:00	China	28–34	Argentina	Park Dome Kumamoto, Higashi-ku Attendance: 1,985 Referees: Antić, Jakovljević (SRB)
	Jin 10	(13–18)	Karsten 12
	4×	Report	1× 3×

3 December 2019 19:30	Sweden	34–26	Japan	Park Dome Kumamoto, Higashi-ku Attendance: 6,375 Referees: Krichen, Makhlouf (TUN)
	Blohm 7	(20–13)	Tanabe 5
	1× 4×	Report	4×

5 December 2019 15:00	DR Congo	25–24	China	Park Dome Kumamoto, Higashi-ku Attendance: 6,729 Referees: Kuttler, Merz (GER)
	Mwasesa 12	(10–11)	Jin 8
	2× 6× 1×	Report	1× 5×

5 December 2019 18:00	Japan	23–33	Russia	Park Dome Kumamoto, Higashi-ku Attendance: 6,220 Referees: Antić, Jakovljević (SRB)
	Sasaki 7	(16–16)	Sen 8
	1× 2×	Report	1× 2×

5 December 2019 20:30	Sweden	30–23	Argentina	Park Dome Kumamoto, Higashi-ku Attendance: 2,442 Referees: Lončar, Lončar (CRO)
	Mässing 5	(14–11)	Mendoza 8
	1× 5×	Report	2× 3×

6 December 2019 15:00	Japan	35–18	China	Park Dome Kumamoto, Higashi-ku Attendance: 8,310 Referees: Sosa, Lemes (URU)
	Akiyama 8	(17–8)	Sun 5
	2× 2×	Report	2× 5×

6 December 2019 18:00	Argentina	25–16	DR Congo	Park Dome Kumamoto, Higashi-ku Attendance: 2,950 Referees: Christiansen, Hansen (DEN)
	Karsten 8	(9–13)	Mwasesa 5
	2× 3×	Report	5×

6 December 2019 20:30	Russia	30–22	Sweden	Park Dome Kumamoto, Higashi-ku Attendance: 3,826 Referees: Koo, Lee (KOR)
	Frolova 11	(16–12)	Gulldén 8
	3× 8×	Report	5×

President's Cup

21st–24th place playoffs

21st–24th place semifinals		21st place

8 December

Cuba	45
		9 December
Australia	25
		Cuba (pen.)	33
8 December
		Kazakhstan	31
Kazakhstan	29

China	23
		23rd place

		9 December

		Australia	15

		China	33

21st–24th place semifinals

8 December 2019 10:00	Cuba	45–25	Australia	Kumamoto Prefectural Gymnasium, Nishi-ku Attendance: 800 Referees: Lemes, Sosa (URU)
	Robert, Téllez 7	(25–16)	Potocki 10
	1× 8× 2×	Report	4× 1×

8 December 2019 12:30	Kazakhstan	29–23	China	Kumamoto Prefectural Gymnasium, Nishi-ku Attendance: 1,000 Referees: Antić, Jakovljević (SRB)
	Rejemetova 8	(16–15)	Jin 7
	1× 1×	Report	1× 2×

23rd place game

9 December 2019 12:30	Australia	15–33	China	Park Dome Kumamoto, Higashi-ku Attendance: 6,920 Referees: Lemes, Sosa (URU)
	Potocki 9	(7–17)	Chen 11
	1× 3×	Report	2× 4×

21st place game

9 December 2019 12:30	Cuba	33–31	Kazakhstan	Kumamoto Prefectural Gymnasium, Nishi-ku Attendance: 1,700 Referees: Cheng, Zhou (CHN)
	Camejo, Toledo 7	(15–14)	Khardina 9
	3× 4× 1×	Report	1×
	FT: 29–29 Pen: 4–2

17–20th place playoffs

17–20th place semifinals		17th place

8 December

Slovenia	19
		9 December
Brazil	32
		Brazil	22
8 December
		Senegal	18
Senegal	28

DR Congo	23
		19th place

		9 December

		Slovenia	29

		DR Congo	27

17–20th place semifinals

8 December 2019 15:00	Slovenia	19–32	Brazil	Kumamoto Prefectural Gymnasium, Nishi-ku Attendance: 1,100 Referees: Lee, Koo (KOR)
	Gros 5	(9–18)	Araújo, Lima 6
	4×	Report	1×

8 December 2019 18:00	Senegal	28–23	DR Congo	Kumamoto Prefectural Gymnasium, Nishi-ku Attendance: 600 Referees: Năstase, Stancu (ROU)
	N'Diaye, Sankharé 6	(16–9)	Mwasesa 7
	3× 2×	Report	1× 3×

19th place game

9 December 2019 15:00	Slovenia	29–27	DR Congo	Kumamoto Prefectural Gymnasium, Nishi-ku Attendance: 1,900 Referees: Belkhiri, Hamidi (ALG)
	Stanko 13	(14–13)	Mwasesa 9
	2× 3×	Report	2× 3×

17th place game

9 December 2019 18:00	Brazil	22–18	Senegal	Kumamoto Prefectural Gymnasium, Nishi-ku Attendance: 600 Referees: El-Saied, El-Saied (EGY)
	Nascimento 4	(13–9)	Sankharé 7
	1× 4×	Report	3×

13–16th place playoffs

13–16th place semifinals		13th place

8 December

Hungary	34
		9 December
Argentina	26
		Hungary	21
8 December
		France	26
Angola	17

France	28
		15th place

		9 December

		Argentina	27

		Angola	30

13–16th place semifinals

8 December 2019 12:30	Angola	17–28	France	Aqua Dome Kumamoto, Minami-ku Attendance: 3,430 Referees: Lončar, Lončar (CRO)
	Guialo 4	(9–9)	Nze Minko 5
	4× 1×	Report	3× 3×

8 December 2019 12:30	Hungary	34–26	Argentina	Park Dome Kumamoto, Higashi-ku Attendance: 3,726 Referees: Christiansen, Hansen (DEN)
	Kovacsics 7	(19–12)	Karsten 9
	3×	Report

15th place game

9 December 2019 15:00	Argentina	27–30	Angola	Park Dome Kumamoto, Higashi-ku Attendance: 6,464 Referees: Hizaki, Ikebuchi (JPN)
	Karsten 6	(17–13)	Guialo 11
	3×	Report	1× 9×

13th place game

9 December 2019 18:00	Hungary	21–26	France	Park Dome Kumamoto, Higashi-ku Attendance: 2,920 Referees: Alpaidze, Berezkina (RUS)
	Lukács 7	(12–12)	Lacrabère 6
	1× 2×	Report	3×

Main round

Group I

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Norway	5	4	0	1	146	128	+18	8	Semifinals
2	Netherlands	5	3	0	2	153	136	+17	6	Semifinals
3	Serbia	5	2	1	2	139	151	−12	5^[a]	Fifth place game
4	Germany	5	2	1	2	135	136	−1	5^[a]	Seventh place game
5	Denmark	5	1	2	2	123	124	−1	4
6	South Korea	5	0	2	3	144	165	−21	2

Source: IHF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) goal difference.
Notes:

^ ^a ^b Germany 28–29 Serbia

8 December 2019 15:00	Serbia	36–33	South Korea	Aqua Dome Kumamoto, Minami-ku Attendance: 3,450 Referees: García, Marín (ESP)
	Lavko 7	(21–16)	Ryu 10
	1× 7× 1×	Report	1× 4×

8 December 2019 18:00	Netherlands	23–25	Germany	Aqua Dome Kumamoto, Minami-ku Attendance: 4,020 Referees: Bonaventura, Bonaventura (FRA)
	Dulfer 4	(12–11)	Bölk 6
	4×	Report	1× 1×

8 December 2019 20:30	Norway	22–19	Denmark	Aqua Dome Kumamoto, Minami-ku Attendance: 1,890 Referees: Alpaidze, Berezkina (RUS)
	Hegh Arntzen 5	(12–9)	Grigel, Højlund 4
	1× 4×	Report	2× 3×

9 December 2019 15:00	Germany	28–29	Serbia	Aqua Dome Kumamoto, Minami-ku Attendance: 5,090 Referees: Năstase, Stancu (ROU)
	Berger, Minevskaja 6	(17–19)	Cvijić 7
	1× 5×	Report	2× 5× 1×

9 December 2019 18:00	Denmark	27–24	Netherlands	Aqua Dome Kumamoto, Minami-ku Attendance: 2,200 Referees: García, Marín (ESP)
	Hansen 5	(14–9)	Polman, Snelder 5
	3× 6×	Report	1× 4×

9 December 2019 20:30	South Korea	25–36	Norway	Aqua Dome Kumamoto, Minami-ku Attendance: 2,120 Referees: Bonaventura, Bonaventura (FRA)
	Ryu 7	(10–20)	Oftedal 7
	1× 3×	Report	2× 2×

11 December 2019 15:00	Netherlands	40–33	South Korea	Aqua Dome Kumamoto, Minami-ku Attendance: 5,070 Referees: Năstase, Stancu (ROU)
	Abbingh 11	(23–16)	Ryu 9
	1× 7× 1×	Report	1× 2×

11 December 2019 18:00	Serbia	26–26	Denmark	Aqua Dome Kumamoto, Minami-ku Attendance: 3,080 Referees: García, Marín (ESP)
	Pop-Lazić 6	(14–11)	S. Jørgensen 6
	1× 6×	Report	2× 2×

11 December 2019 20:30	Norway	32–29	Germany	Aqua Dome Kumamoto, Minami-ku Attendance: 3,520 Referees: Alpaidze, Berezkina (RUS)
	Brattset Dale 6	(17–16)	Bölk 6
	2×	Report	1× 2×

Group II

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Russia	5	5	0	0	161	117	+44	10	Semifinals
2	Spain	5	3	1	1	145	137	+8	7	Semifinals
3	Montenegro	5	3	0	2	137	137	0	6	Fifth place game
4	Sweden	5	2	1	2	141	132	+9	5	Seventh place game
5	Japan (H)	5	1	0	4	143	150	−7	2
6	Romania	5	0	0	5	102	156	−54	0

Source: IHF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) goal difference.
(H) Hosts

8 December 2019 15:00	Romania	18–27	Russia	Park Dome Kumamoto, Higashi-ku Attendance: 5,870 Referees: García, Paolantoni (ARG)
	Neagu 5	(10–10)	Bobrovnikova, Vyakhireva 5
	1× 3× 1×	Report	2× 4×

8 December 2019 18:00	Montenegro	30–26	Japan	Park Dome Kumamoto, Higashi-ku Attendance: 7,356 Referees: Belkhiri, Hamidi (ALG)
	Radičević 8	(14–11)	Fujita 7
	1× 3×	Report	2× 3×

8 December 2019 20:30	Spain	28–28	Sweden	Park Dome Kumamoto, Higashi-ku Attendance: 2,132 Referees: Lah, Sok (SVN)
	Cabral 6	(14–8)	Hagman, Mässing 8
	2× 7× 1×	Report	2× 3×

10 December 2019 15:00	Russia	35–28	Montenegro	Park Dome Kumamoto, Higashi-ku Attendance: 6,338 Referees: Krichen, Makhlouf (TUN)
	Managarova 12	(17–16)	Radičević 8
	1× 5×	Report	2× 7×

10 December 2019 18:00	Japan	31–33	Spain	Park Dome Kumamoto, Higashi-ku Attendance: 3,428 Referees: Kuttler, Merz (GER)
	Ohyama 6	(13–17)	Pena 7
	3× 4×	Report	2× 5×

10 December 2019 20:30	Sweden	34–22	Romania	Park Dome Kumamoto, Higashi-ku Attendance: 1,980 Referees: Lemes, Sosa (URU)
	Mellegård 7	(14–9)	three players 4
	1× 4×	Report	1× 3×

11 December 2019 15:00	Spain	26–36	Russia	Park Dome Kumamoto, Higashi-ku Attendance: 6,281 Referees: Bonaventura, Bonaventura (FRA)
	Cabral 6	(12–16)	Frolova 9
	1×	Report	2× 2×

11 December 2019 18:00	Romania	20–37	Japan	Park Dome Kumamoto, Higashi-ku Attendance: 3,962 Referees: Belkhiri, Hamidi (ALG)
	Perianu, Udriștioiu 4	(8–18)	Sasaki 8
	1× 3×	Report

11 December 2019 20:30	Montenegro	26–23	Sweden	Park Dome Kumamoto, Higashi-ku Attendance: 1,926 Referees: García, Paolantoni (ARG)
	Mehmedović 7	(12–12)	Blohm 7
	3× 2×	Report	4×

Final round

Bracket

Semifinals		Final

13 December

Norway	22
		15 December
Spain	28
		Spain	29
13 December
		Netherlands	30
Russia	32

Netherlands	33
		Third place

		15 December

		Norway	28

		Russia	33

Semifinals

13 December 2019 17:30	Russia	32–33	Netherlands	Park Dome Kumamoto, Higashi-ku Attendance: 4,240 Referees: Bonaventura, Bonaventura (FRA)
	Vyakhireva 11	(16–16)	Polman 9
	2× 3×	Report	3×

13 December 2019 20:30	Norway	22–28	Spain	Park Dome Kumamoto, Higashi-ku Attendance: 4,261 Referees: Alpaidze, Berezkina (RUS)
	Aune 5	(13–13)	Cabral 7
	3× 3×	Report	2× 5×

Seventh place game

13 December 2019 14:30	Germany	24–35	Sweden	Park Dome Kumamoto, Higashi-ku Attendance: 6,860 Referees: García, Marín (ESP)
	Stolle 6	(13–18)	Gulldén 7
	1× 2×	Report	1× 1×

Fifth place game

13 December 2019 11:30	Serbia	26–28	Montenegro	Park Dome Kumamoto, Higashi-ku Attendance: 5,690 Referees: Belkhiri, Hamidi (ALG)
	Stoiljković 6	(12–13)	Raičević, Ramusović 4
	1×	Report	3× 4×

Third place game

15 December 2019 17:30	Norway	28–33	Russia	Park Dome Kumamoto, Higashi-ku Attendance: 8,664 Referees: García, Marín (ESP)
	Hegh Arntzen, Oftedal 7	(15–18)	Vyakhireva 9
	1× 4×	Report	4×

Final

15 December 2019 20:30	Spain	29–30	Netherlands	Park Dome Kumamoto, Higashi-ku Attendance: 9,624 Referees: Bonaventura, Bonaventura (FRA)
	Cabral 7	(13–16)	Polman 9
	2× 1× 1×	Report	2× 3×

Final ranking

Rank	Team
	Netherlands
	Spain
	Russia
4	Norway
5	Montenegro
6	Serbia
7	Sweden
8	Germany
9	Denmark
10	Japan^[A]
11	South Korea
12	Romania
13	France
14	Hungary
15	Angola
16	Argentina
17	Brazil
18	Senegal
19	Slovenia
20	DR Congo
21	Cuba
22	Kazakhstan
23	China
24	Australia

	Qualified for the 2020 Summer Olympics
	Qualified for the 2020 Summer Olympics through other tournaments
	Qualified for the Olympic Qualification Tournament
	Qualified for the Olympic Qualification Tournament through other tournaments

2019 Women's World Champions

Netherlands
First title

Team roster: Jessy Kramer, Laura van der Heijden, Debbie Bont, Lois Abbingh, Larissa Nüsser, Danick Snelder, Bo van Wetering, Delaila Amega, Kelly Dulfer, Merel Freriks, Inger Smits, Martine Smeets, Angela Malestein, Rinka Duijndam, Tess Wester, Annick Lipman, Dione Housheer, Estavana Polman.
Head coach: Emmanuel Mayonnade.

All Star Team

The All Star Team and MVP was announced on 15 December 2019.^[12]

Position	Player
Most valuable player	Estavana Polman (NED)
Goalkeeper	Tess Wester (NED)
Right wing	Jovanka Radičević (MNE)
Right back	Anna Vyakhireva (RUS)
Centre back	Estavana Polman (NED)
Left back	Alexandrina Cabral (ESP)
Left wing	Camilla Herrem (NOR)
Pivot	Linn Blohm (SWE)

Statistics

Top goalscorers

Rank	Name	Team	Goals	Shots	%
1	Lois Abbingh	Netherlands	71	114	62
2	Ryu Eun-hee	South Korea	69	114	61
3	Tjaša Stanko	Slovenia	62	98	63
4	Alexandrina Cabral	Spain	60	95	63
5	Estavana Polman	Netherlands	58	107	54
5	Jovanka Radičević	Montenegro	58	82	71
7	Stine Bredal Oftedal	Norway	51	82	62
8	Cristina Neagu	Romania	49	82	60
9	Yaroslava Frolova	Russia	48	69	70
10	Sally Potocki	Australia	47	100	47

Source: IHF

Top goalkeepers

Rank	Name	Team	%	Saves	Shots
1	Catherine Gabriel	France	42	34	81
2	Victoriya Kalinina	Russia	39	42	107
2	Sandra Toft	Denmark	39	90	229
4	Hatadou Sako	Senegal	37	85	228
5	Dinah Eckerle	Germany	36	103	290
6	Blanka Bíró	Hungary	35	43	123
	Amandine Leynaud	France		46	133
	Silje Solberg	Norway		113	321
9	Bárbara Arenhart	Brazil	34	49	146
9	Filippa Idéhn	Sweden	34	88	256

Source: IHF

Top assists

Rank	Name	Team	Assists
1	Anna Vyakhireva	Russia	62
2	Milena Raičević	Montenegro	51
3	Stine Bredal Oftedal	Norway	47
4	Estavana Polman	Netherlands	43
5	Emilie Hegh Arntzen	Norway	40
5	Yui Sunami	Japan	40
7	Kristina Liščević	Serbia	37
8	Alexandrina Cabral	Spain	33
9	Jelena Lavko	Serbia	31
9	Ryu Eun-hee	South Korea	31

Source: IHF

Notes

^ Japan directly qualified as the host of Olympics.

References

^ "Japan and Denmark/Germany are the hosts of the 2019 World Championships". 28 October 2013.
^ "Netherlands take first world title with last-second penalty". ihf.info. 15 December 2019.
^ "Japan will host Women´s World Cup 2019". handball-world.com. 28 October 2013. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
^ "Draw for Women's North American and the Caribbean qualification for Japan 2019". IHF. 14 April 2019. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
^ "Teams". 24th IHF Women's Handball World Championship 2019. Archived from the original on 23 January 2019. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
^ "Draw for 24th IHF Women's World Championship". ihf.info. 1 February 2019. Archived from the original on 29 June 2019.
^ "Groups for Women's World Championship set". ihf.info. 21 June 2019.
^ "2019 IHF Women's World Championship draw". ihf.info. 19 June 2019.
^ "Referee couples for 24th IHF Women's World Championship 2019". ihf.info. 5 September 2019.
^ "Women's World Championship match schedule finalised". IHF. 3 July 2019.
^ "Regulations for IHF competitions" (PDF). IHF. 14 January 2018.
^ "Japan 2019 All-star Team". ihf.info. 15 December 2019.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 2019 World Women's Handball Championship.

Official website
IHF website

World Handball Championships

Men's

Tournaments	Germany 1938 Sweden 1954 East Germany 1958 West Germany 1961 Czechoslovakia 1964 Sweden 1967 France 1970 East Germany 1974 Denmark 1978 West Germany 1982 Switzerland 1986 Czechoslovakia 1990 Sweden 1993 Iceland 1995 Japan 1997 Egypt 1999 France 2001 Portugal 2003 Tunisia 2005 Germany 2007 Croatia 2009 Sweden 2011 Spain 2013 Qatar 2015 France 2017 Denmark / Germany 2019 Egypt 2021 Poland / Sweden 2023 Croatia / Denmark / Norway 2025 Germany 2027 France / Germany 2029 Denmark / Iceland / Norway 2031
Qualification	2025
Squads	1938 1954 1958 1961 1964 1967 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015 2017 2019 2021 2023

Women's

Tournaments	Yugoslavia 1957 Romania 1962 West Germany 1965 Netherlands 1971 Yugoslavia 1973 Soviet Union 1975 Czechoslovakia 1978 Hungary 1982 Netherlands 1986 South Korea 1990 Norway 1993 Austria / Hungary 1995 Germany 1997 Denmark / Norway 1999 Italy 2001 Croatia 2003 Russia 2005 France 2007 China 2009 Brazil 2011 Serbia 2013 Denmark 2015 Germany 2017 Japan 2019 Spain 2021 Denmark / Norway / Sweden 2023 Germany / Netherlands 2025 Hungary 2027 Spain 2029 Czech Republic / Poland 2031
Qualification	2025
Squads	1957 1962 1965 1971 1973 1975 1978 1982 1986 1990 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015 2017 2019 2021 2023

v t e 2019 World Women's Handball Championship qualification
Africa	2018 African Women's Handball Championship
Asia	2018 Asian Women's Handball Championship
America	North America and Caribbean South and Central America
Europe	2018 European Women's Handball Championship European qualification

v t e World championships in 2019
Summer sports & indoor sports	Aquatics artistic swimming diving high diving open water swimming swimming water polo Archery Association football (women) Athletics cross country relay Badminton mixed team Basketball men 3x3 Beach soccer Beach volleyball Bowls Boxing men women Canoeing slalom sprint marathon Cricket Test ODI (men) Cycling road track mountain bike cyclo-cross BMX Fencing Floorball (women) Futsal (AMF men) Gymnastics artistic rhythmic trampoline Handball men women Judo Korfball Minifootball Modern pentathlon Muaythai Netball Nine-pin bowling Orienteering Roller hockey men women Rowing Rugby union (men) Shooting (shotgun) Softball (men) Sport climbing Squash men 2018–19 2019–20 women 2018–19 2019–20 Surfing Table tennis men women team Taekwondo Weightlifting Windsurfing Wrestling Wushu
Winter sports	Alpine skiing Bandy (men) Biathlon Bobsleigh / skeleton Curling men women mixed mixed doubles wheelchair Figure skating Freestyle skiing / snowboarding Ice hockey men women Luge Nordic skiing Speed skating allround single distances sprint short track
Cue & mind sports	Chess rapid blitz Darts BDO PDC Draughts men women Pool Nine-ball Ten-ball Snooker six-red
Motor sports	Air race Aquabike Endurance auto racing 2018–19 2019–20 Endurance motorcycle racing 2018–19 2019–20 F1 Powerboat Formula One Motocross men women team MotoGP Moto2 Moto3 MotoE Radio-controlled 1:10 off-road Rally Rallycross Rally raid Auto Moto Bajas auto Bajas moto Speedway individual team Sidecarcross Superbike Supersport Supersport 300 Touring car