Holland and 9000 “orange” fans beat Argentina! Rotterdam Ahoy, full for the first time at the Women's Handball World Championship
Article by Ionuţ Iordache, Adrian Jitea – Published Friday, November 28, 2025 11:55 p.m. / Updated Friday, November 28, 2025 11:57 p.m.
The Netherlands started with a win at Women's Handball World Championship32-25 over Argentina. 9000 “orange” fans were present in the stands of Rotterdam Ahoy.
- Reporter Adrian Jitea and photojournalist Ionuț Iordache are in Rotterdam with the Romanian national team and transmit all the information and images that matter.
For Holland it is a World Championship full of emotions. Lois Abbingh and Estavana Polman, the leaders of the generation that brought world gold in 2019, will retire at the end of the tournament.
Holland filled the hall in Rotterdam
The fans want to carry them to another medal, so they filled Rotterdam Ahoy, officially 9000 spectators. A hall colored completely in orange, rare oases of blue or black, but still national team shirts. A healthy financial recipe for the local federation.
The atmosphere was festive before the siren that announced the start. Afterwards, there were also dead moments. Especially since the host national team did not have a great start.
The extremes were rarely released, nor did the pivot game work at optimal levels. Dione Housheer's punts and 9-yard line with a clear uppercut made it 16-11 at halftime.
The “League of Flowers” was strongly represented in the Batavian national team. Merel Freriks (CSM Bucharest), Estavana Polman (Rapid) and Larissa Nusser (Gloria Bistrița) were on the scoresheet. In the first part, Larissa was the most active.
The most beautiful phase, the one that lifted the crowd and kept them on their feet until the end, took place in the 58th minute, a quick combination with Polman finishing from the pivot position.
It was something extraordinary. As usual, the first match is a bit chaotic, but what happened here was incredible. It's fantastic to have 9000 people supporting you
– Estavana Polman, for GSP.ro
Otherwise, frequent desynchronization in the Holland camp. The hosts' chance was that they met an opponent without many weapons. A rather torturous game, but a checkered victory without emotions and without injuries, score 32-25.
And the road to the quarter-finals seems open. In the main group they will meet France, Poland and, most likely, Tunisia. A triumph against the Poles would be enough to reach the top 8.
Group E schedule and results at the Women's Handball World Championship:
- November 28 » Austria – Egypt 29-20
- November 28 » Netherlands – Argentina 32-25
- November 30, 19:00 » Austria – Argentina
- November 30, 21:30 » Egypt – Netherlands
- December 2, 19:00 » Argentina – Egypt
- December 2, 21:30 » Netherlands – Austria
Handball GSP » Oana Manea analyzed Romania's victorious debut at the World Championship
