- after finishing the preliminary round with maximum points in their respective groups, Finland and Italy grabbed close victories in the semi-finals on Saturday to reach the fight for the trophy
- Italy started their W17 EHF Championship 2025 journey with three straight wins in group B — against Israel, Ukraine and Great Britain — and continued the victory road with a 33:30 win in the semi-final against Bulgaria
- centre back Silvia Sofia Berardi was the key player of the final, scoring eight times out of eight shots for the Italian side
- Finland’s Amanda Karén also contributed 10 goals for her team, but it was not enough to overcome the strong defensive wall of the Italians
- in the bronze medal match, Ukraine and Bulgaria remained on the same level throughout the first half, with only two goals separating the sides at the break (17:15); however, Ukraine returned from the lockers with new-found energy and increased the rhythm, reaching a 10-goal lead (28:18) by the 48th minute and finally claiming the last spot of the podium with a 36:29 win
- all four semi-finalists were represented in the All-star Team of the competition, with Israel also joining the list; Liam Lulu from Israel was crowned top scorer of the competition with 57 goals to her name, while Finland's Amanda Karén lifted the MVP award
FINAL
Finland vs Italy 34:38 (16:15)
Finland opened the score through Julianna Räsänen and by the seventh minute already built an advantage of three goals (4:1). They kept their edge for a while, with Italy fighting strongly for a comeback and managing to tie the score a few times throughout the first half, thus going to the lockers at the break only one goal behind (16:15).
Italian centre back Silvia Sofia Berardi found the net right after the game’s restart, announcing a change in the rhythm for her team, who increased their offensive power and were three goals ahead in minute 35. Helped by their brilliant goalkeeper Viola Giubbini between the posts — with 17 saves in total for a 33.33 per cent efficiency —, the Italians resisted against their opponents’ repeated attacks, and even reached a six-goal lead while entering the last quarter of the match (28:22).
With the trophy in sight, nothing could stop the Italian squad and they did not let go of the lead until the end, celebrating a well-fought 38:34 victory in Pristina and becoming the new W17 EHF Championship title-holders.
