Denmark used quite a few World Cup debutants to crush Japan, Norway on the other hand relied on the exceptionally experienced Katrine Lunde to distance Korea. Sweden faced the hardest opposition, Czech Republic but completed the Nordic triple Thursday night.
The Danish coach of Japan, Morten Soubak stood no chance to apply any tactics to disturb the red and white win. Instead Denmark inserted huge authority in the first half to pull away. Helena Elver carried the team in attacks while Anna Kristensen had more than an hunch where the shots would appear from close range.
Denmark won by 17 goals, while Norway had 15 goals more than Korea. It took a while for the reigning runner-up to find the pace and shot precision, meanwhile Katrine Lunde really got the better of the offense in the other direction. The keeper started her 25th and last major championship with a save percentage of 62.
Sweden used the end of both halves to decide the game against Czech Republic. Whether ups and downs or premiere nerves, Tomas Axner´s squad struggled somewhat in defense and efficiency tricked the favourite. Emma Lindqvist had had enough mid-second half and took responsibility and a few fast breaks was Clara Lerby’s time to shine as joint top scorer.
World Championship
Group A, Romania–Croatia 33–24 (13–12)
Denmark–Japan 36–19 (19–6)
Group B, Switzerland–Iran 34–9 (19–7)
Hungary–Senegal 26–17 (10–7)
Group G, Brazil–Cuba 41–20 (18–13)
Sweden–Czech Republic 31–23 (17–13)
Group H, Angola–Kazakhstan 38–20 (21-9)
Norway–Korea 34–19 (14–9)