Ukraine narrowly defeated the Czech Republic but remained outside the women's handball world championship.

The women's national team of Ukraine defeated the Czech Republic with a score of 27:26 in the final match of the second round of qualification for the 2025 World Championship in handball. Previously, the Ukrainians lost 19:35 in the first match against the Czech Republic.

In the second match, the Ukrainian team had to catch up and surpass their opponents with a 16-goal deficit from the first match. The meeting took place in Jonava, Lithuania.

Match report of the decisive game

The Czech Republic pulled ahead by five goals in the first half, but the Ukrainian team managed to reduce the gap to four goals before halftime (11:15). Tamara Smbatyan and Milana Shukal became the top scorers with three goals each.

In the second half, Ukraine equalized the score to 16:16, scoring five out of six goals. The 'blue-yellows' managed to take the first lead with a score of 18:17 when Smbatyan scored her fourth goal.

The Ukrainian team finished the match with a narrow advantage of one goal, 27:26. The most goals (9) were scored by Milana Shukal, while goalkeepers Judith Balog and Yelizaveta Voronko made 13 saves together.

Qualification for the 2026 World Championship (2nd round). Return match

Ukraine - Czech Republic - 27:26 (11:15)

In the sum of two matches - 46:61.

This victory was an important step towards restoring the success of the women's national team, which previously suffered six defeats in official matches. The team's last victory occurred in February 2024, when they defeated Israel 32:28 in the qualification for the European Championship.

The next qualifying tournament for the women's national team of Ukraine is the European Championship 2026, which will start in October. It is already known that the 'blue-yellows' will play against Sweden, Serbia, and Lithuania.