Preliminary round
Group A
In Group A, the start of the group of death saw Romania triumph over wildcards Croatia 33–24. [14] The Croats led at the start of proceedings before a 6–0 run gave the Romanians a 12–8 advantage that before the Croatian reduced the deficit to at half time to 13–12. Close at the half, a solid display by the Romanians in the second half meant they led the whole time for the final 30 minutes and secured an opening win. The later game saw European runners-up Denmark beat a poor Japanese team, who were going into the worlds as Asian champions, 36–19. [15] The Danes completely dominated, with the Japanese only scoring a measly 6 goals at half time.
Two days later, Romania secured their passage to the main round after narrowly beating Japan, 31–27. [16] A much improved Japanese team fought tooth and nail with the Romanians and were level for approximately the whole game, but slightly fell behind in the last ten minutes to concede defeat. Denmark earned a spot in the main round by beating Croatia 35–24. [17]
Group B
In Group B, debutants Switzerland thrashed Iran 34–9. [18] After a slow start, with the Iranians even scoring the first goal, The Swiss scored many fast break goals and tore apart the Iranian defense, while Iran only scored two goals in the second half. In the second encounter, Hungary defeated Africans, Senegal, 26–17. [19] The Hungarians found it very difficult to pull away from the Senegalese, who were only down by one goal (10–9) early in the second half, but an 8–2 run by Hungary made the difference as the European bronze medalists managed to break away. Senegal were also helped by their goalkeeper and player of the match, Justicia Toubissa Elbeco.
The Swiss were able to avoid an upset by triumphing over a tough Senegalese team 25–24. [20] The African side held an early 4–2 lead but a 5–0 run helped Switzerland get a more comfortable lead, forcing Senegal to use time a time out. 14–13 to Switzerland at the half, Senegal started better and regained the advantage at 17–15, but another run of Swiss goals put the game back in Switzerland's favour. From 24–20 down, Senegal managed to cut the deficit, but the comeback was too late and the last play of th game saw Senegal score to achieve a 25–24 final score for the Swiss. Group favourites, Hungary, score a tournament high 47 goals to destroy Iran 47–13 and qualify for the main round. [21]
Group C
Co-hosts Germany started Group C in winning ways after securing a 32–25 win over Iceland, led by the seven goals from player of the match Alina Grijseels. [22] The score was 25–22 in the 49th minute, but a 5–0 run by the Germans sealed the win. The later game saw Serbia come out victors against returnees Uruguay by a 31–19 scoreline after leading most of the game. [23]
In matchday 2, Germany secured their passage to the main round with a 38–12 win over group underdogs Uruguay. [24] For the first half, even though they didn't score many, the Uruguayans did a good job making Germany work for their early goals. The Germans were also very sloppy in the first half. But the second half was more comfortable for the co-hosts asthey won it 23–5 to make sure they move on to Dortmund in the next round. Later on, an all-European fight saw Serbia scrape to a 27–26 victory over Iceland. [25] The encounter started tight and level at 8–8 but the Serbs had a 3–0 run to make it 11–8. The Serbian team frustrated Iceland and had a six goal lead going into the final 13 minutes, before the drama ensued. A near 10 minute goal drought, plus some five Icelandic goals made a 25–19 Serbia lead turn into 25–24 in the closing minutes. Iceland missed a fast break goal that could've leveled it at 25-all and Serbia finally broke the 10 minute drought and would later make it 27–25, before Iceland scored an empty goal and had the last possession to equalise, but the attempt was saved and Serbia held on.
In a game to decide who advanced, [26] They led the game completely and didn't let Uruguay score for 13 minutes between the 24th and 37th minutes. In the final game of the group, Germany dominated Serbia seal first place by a score of 31–20 to make it three wins out of three heading into Dortmund. [27]
Group D
The opening match of Group D, saw Spain labour to a 26–17 win over Paraguay. [28] The Spaniards led the whole game but couldn't run riot over the spirited Paraguayans. Montenegro secured at winning start after beating debutants Faroe Islands 32–27. [29] After a tight start, the Montenegrins would take a two goal lead by the 14th minute and they never threw the advantage away, helped by goalkeeper, Armelle Attingré achieving a 45% saving rate.
On the next gameday, Montenegro became one of the first teams to reach the main round after defeating a, once again, spirited Paraguay team 33–24, where they led the whole game, with Paraguay reducing the difference to single digits late on. [30] The next game in Trier saw the first upset of the tournament with the Faroe Islands shocking Spain 27–25. [31] With Spain being up 14–11 at the break, the Faroes came back flying to tie the game. The entire second half was neck and neck, but with a minute left, the Spaniards failed to equalise and by the end, Jana Mittún scored a last gasp goal to cement the upset for the islanders.
Faroe Islands secured their second win an sent themselves to the main round after bating Paraguay 36–25. [32] The Faroes led by three to five goals during the first half, while the second half went the same way as Faroe Islands earned an eleven goal win, condemning the South Americans to the President's Cup. The final game of the group saw Spain overcome their previous upset to the Faroe Islands and defeated Montenegro 31–26 to win the group on a three-way tie. [33] In a game they predominantly led the whole time, Spain cemented first place in the group heading into the main round.
Group E
The opening match of Group E was Austria vs African debutants Egypt. The match resulted with a 29–20 win for the Austrians. [34] The Egyptians started brilliantly, being ahead for the first 17 minutes and taking advantage of Austrian mistakes. But the Europeans managed to come back after a 3–0 run, alongside reducing Egypt goals, gave Austria a lead at the interval. Austria started the second half better and broke away, helped by Egypt having 20 turnovers in the game. Co-hosts Netherlands got their campaign up and running with a 32–25 win over perennial participants, Argentina. [35] Despite a nervous start, the Dutch, while not by much, were ahead the entire game and never looked like relinquishing it.
In one of the tightest games on paper, Austria confirmed their main round spot with a 27–23 close clash win over Argentina. [36] The Argentinians took an early 7–3 advantage after ten minutes. But a 5–0 run, coupled with a Argentina not scoring for 10 minutes changed the game in Austria's way. The score was level at 12–12 going into half time. An early 4–1 run for the Austrians gave them a lead they never gave up. Argentina chances of winning were reduced after a red card for Elke Karsten with 10 minutes left was issued. After a stunning start by Egypt, holding back the co-hosts Netherlands incredibly well, the Dutch scored many goals just before half time and held back the Egyptian offense in the second half to win the game 37–15 and make the next round. [37]
Group F
In 's-Hertogenbosch, Group F commenced with a 36–20 win for the Poles against Asian wildcards China. [38] The Chinese underdogs gave Poland a very good fight in the opening 30 minutes, even leading for the opening minutes and refused to back away when behind, leaving the score at 15–12 at the half time. But once the second half started, it was completely different story. Poland annihilated China 21–8 in the last thirty minutes to 100% make sure the Poles wouldn't be shocked. Defending champions France easily cruised to a 43–18 win over Tunisia to commence their title defense in style. [39] France won both halves with ease, player of the match, Suzanne Wajoka, leading the scoring with 10.
Tunisia almost managed a historic result, but fell away in the last minutes to lose to Poland 29–26. [40] Both teams had three goals lead in the first half but the score was level at 12–12. Both side traded leads in the second half but Poland snuck themselves ahead late on to qualify for the main round. 68 goals were shared between France and China, but the French scored 47 of them to win 47–21. [41] Wajoka again led the scoring with seven.
Group G
In Group G, Brazil came out 41–20 winners over returnees Cuba. [42] After an impressive Cuban first half where they were very competitive, The Brazilian broke through to record an easy win. Sweden played Czech Republic later on in the day, where the Swedes won an all-European clash 31–23. [43] The Swedes held a narrow lead the whole game before making it more comfortable at the end, despite Czech goalkeeper, Sabrina Novotná, saving 17 times.
On gameday two, a brilliant second half for Brazil ensured a 28–22 over Czech Republic, becoming the first team outside of Europe to beat a European team. [44] The Czechs were dominant in the first half, having a 15–12 half time advantage. they increased their lead at the restart to 17–12, but the Brazilians turned a gear and came storming back, making it 18–18 after Czech Republic didn't score for 12 minutes. The rest of the game, Brazil took their first lead in the 49th minute and never looked back. The second game was held between Cuba and Sweden, where no mishaps took place and Sweden cruised to a 46–17 win and advancd to the main round, with the Swedes boasting a 81% shooting efficiency in the first half. [45]
Group H
In Group H, the first game of the group was Angola vs Kazakhstan, where the Angolans sealed a convincing 38–20 win over the Kazakhs. [46] The later game of matchday 1 saw the Olympic and European defending champions, Norway, with their first game at a major tournament under new coach Ole Gjekstad, beat South Korea 34–19. [47] Tight at the start, a dominant second half confirmed a comprehensive win.
Despite an early lead for South Korea, African champions Angola emphatically fought back to earn a easy win over the Asians 34–23 buoyed by a 45% save rate by Angolan goalkeeper and player of the match Marta Samuel Alberton. The Angolans became the first Africans to progress. [48] Matchday two's next game saw Norway obliterate Kazakhstan 41–16. [49] Resting a few of their more important players, the Norwegians led the whole match to seal an comfortable win and advanced to the main round.
Germany 
Netherlands 
Sorina Grozav 
