The 2026 IHF Women's U20 Handball World Championship was the 25th edition of the IHF Women's U20 Handball World Championship, the biennial international handball championship organised under the aegis of IHF for the women's U20 national teams across the world. It was held in China from 29 July to 9 August 2026, with Jinzhong being the host city. This was China's second time hosting after 1999.
For the third time, 32 teams took part, following the expansion in 2022. Continental championships acted as qualification that took place between July 2025 and April 2026. The hosts China automatically qualified. Canada and Turkey return after long absences.
France were the defending champions, having beaten Hungary 29–26 at the 2024 final in Skopje, but they were eliminated in the semi-finals by Germany, who won their second title with a win over Denmark.
Qualification TeamQualification methodDate of qualificationAppearance(s)Previous best performance10 July 2025197720247 (1997, 2016)19951 (1995, 2014, 2022)20102 (2012)12 July 2025197710 (2024)199520221 (2003)199120246 (2008)20085 (2010)19778 (2010, 2022)19838 (2012)197720221 (1979, 1993, 2012)1977202414 (2018)19851 (2001, 2008)14 July 2025197720221 (1985)197720247 (1995, 1999)198920011 (1997, 1999, 2001)15 July 2025199920241 (2024)2025 IHF Trophy U19 – North America and the Caribbean20 July 202519793 (1981)198119991 (1981)2025 Asian Junior Championship24 August 2025 198120242 (1981, 1985, 1989)197921 (1997)198122 (2014)27 August 202519912 (1991)2025 African Women's Junior Handball Championship10 September 2025201620245 (2024)20013 (2001)20221 (2022, 2024)11 September 2025199510 (2022)2026 South and Central American Women's Junior Handball Championship15 January 20261991202417 (2005, 2008)19951 (2008)16 January 202620181 (2018)2025 Asian Junior Championship5 March 202620221 (2022)2025 African Women's Junior Handball Championship11 April 2026198920242 (1989)Wildcard20 April 20261stDebut
Draw The draw was held on 18 March 2026 in Basel, Switzerland.
Seeding The seeding was announced on 5 March 2026.
Pot 1 Pot 2 Pot 3 Pot 4 Australia withdrew before the draw.
Referees The referees were announced on 14 April 2026.
Referees Bruna CorreaRenata Correa Cheng YufengZhou Yunle Ante MikelićPetar Parađina Nichlas NygaardJonas Primdahl Moustafa AbdelkarimAhmed Kedis Heidy El-SaiedYasmina El-Saied Mathilde CournilLoriane Lamour Ramesh ThiyagarajahSuresh Thiyagarajah Referees Kristóf AltmárMárton Horváth Amir GheisarianAhmad Gheisarian / Alejandra PepeSimona Stancu Maali Al-EneziDalal Al-Nassem Ismailj MetalariNenad Nikolovski Mads FremstadJørgen Jørstad Rúben MaiaAndré Nunes Cristina LovinSimona Stancu Referees Fadel DiopAbdoulaye Faye Stefan BerdićFilip Šorak Raúl OyarzunAritz Zaragüeta Makrem Ben DahouRochdi Zoghlami Maryna DupliiOlena Karpushchenko Nicolás PerdomoGermán Araujo Khasan IsmoilovKhusan Ismoilov
Squads
Preliminary round All times are local (UTC+8).
Group A
Group B
Group C
Group D
Group E
Group F
Group G
Group H
President's Cup Points obtained in the matches against the team from the group are taken over.
Group I
Group II
Group III
Group IV
Main round Points obtained in the matches against the team from the group are taken over.
Group I
Group II
Group III
Group IV
Placement matches 29th place bracket
29th–32nd place semifinals
31st place game
29th place game
25th place bracket
25–28th place semifinals
27th place game
25th place game
21st place bracket
21st–24th place semifinals
23rd place game
21st place game
17th place bracket
17–20th place semifinals
19th place game
17th place game
13–16th place bracket
13–16th place semifinals
15th place game
13th place game
9–12th place bracket
9–12th place semifinals
Eleventh place game
Ninth place game
Knockout stage Bracket Championship bracket
5–8th place bracket
Quarterfinals
5–8th place semifinals
Semifinals
Seventh place game
Fifth place game
Third place game
Final
Final ranking RankTeam4567891011121314151617181920212223242526272829303132
Statistics and awards
Top goalscorers RankNameGoalsShots% 1 Kirstine Hoppe 66 96 69 2 Teodora-Lavinia Damian 55 74 74 3 Maggie Doherty Dahllöf 54 96 56 4 Shivani Devi 53 98 54 5 Zuzanna Zimnicka 51 91 566 Chiara Rohr50 61 82 Suh A-young 87 57 8 Silja Eystberg 46 72 649 Helena Molina44 76 58 Mirna Brusić 54 81 Ásthildur Þórhallsdóttir 61 72 Source: IHF
Top goalkeepers RankName%SavesShots 1 Merle-Sophie Muth 61 17 28 2 Marta Turkalj 56 10 18 3 Tyra Börjesson 48 10 21 4 Freja Sølling 44 15 34 5 Gihad Sayed 42 87 206 6 Vanja Živković 41 22 54 7 Gréta Majoros 40 44 1118 Leane Gonzalez39 36 92 Anna Danielsson 50 128 Retaj Mohamed 7 18 Source: IHF
All-Star Team The all-star team was announced on 5 July 2026.
Position Player Goalkeeper Freja Nielsen Right wing Dawiya Abdou Right back Julie Groth Centre back Kirstine Hoppe Left back Belén Rodríguez Lario Left wing Chiara Rohr Pivot Kelly Fonkeng MVP Ruslana Litvinov
Notes
See also 2026 IHF Women's U18 Handball World Championship
References
External links IHF website