The Serbian women’s handball team claimed a hard-fought victory over Iceland at the World Championship in Stuttgart, winning 27:26 and securing a place in the next phase of the global competition.
According to bookmaker predictions, Serbia entered the match as the favorite — a status it ultimately justified, though the match proved far more difficult than expected.
Before this duel, Serbia held a better head-to-head score against Iceland (3:1), and the team approached the match in good spirits following a convincing win over underdog Uruguay, despite a performance that was not at its peak. Iceland had previously shown solid resistance but failed to surprise Germany, one of the tournament’s hosts.
Iceland’s preparations for the World Championship had been modest: they lost two European Championship qualifiers to Portugal and the Faroe Islands. Serbia, on the other hand, notched two victories in the same period, against Ukraine and Lithuania.
Serbia failed to convert its first attack of the match, unlike Iceland, but our players quickly settled into rhythm and began scoring, primarily through Katarina Krpež-Slezak and Jovana Skrobić. Early play unfolded “goal for goal,” until Serbia pulled away to its biggest lead of +4 after 20 minutes.
By halftime, Serbia had increased its lead further, heading to the break with a six-goal advantage (19:13). Gordana Petković stood out in particular, saving a penalty and producing several key defensive interventions.
The second half began far less efficiently than the first — after five minutes, each side had scored just once. Ten minutes in, Serbia extended the lead to +7, again driven by Dragana Cvijić, Katarina Krpež-Slezak, and Jovana Skrobić. Iceland managed to close the gap to -5, but the outstanding Gordana Petković again halted their momentum, at least briefly — before Serbia’s play collapsed.
In the final minutes, Iceland launched a series of attacks and reduced the deficit to just two goals entering the last ten minutes, while Serbia struggled immensely with finishing. Iceland had a chance to equalize in the dying seconds, but Jovana Risović delivered a crucial save, allowing Serbia to escape with the win and clinch a spot in the next round.
The top scorers for Serbia were Jovana Skrobić and Katarina Krpež-Slezak with seven goals each, followed by Dragana Cvijić with six. For Iceland, Torkelsdottir and Erlingsdottir scored five goals apiece.
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Source: Sportal, Foto: AP / Marijan Murat