North Macedonia W vs Algeria W

Algeria entered the match off the back of a split start — a 35–20 win over Kosovo on 22 August followed by a 27–37 loss to hosts Italy on 24 August. North Macedonia, meanwhile, had lost their opener 26–31 to Greece and were seeking their first points of the competition.

From the opening whistle, Algeria dictated the tempo. The North African side's attacking efficiency proved too much for the North Macedonian defence, which had already conceded 31 against Greece. By half-time, Algeria had built a lead that North Macedonia never threatened after the break.

The final score of 37–23 reflected a comprehensive performance: Algeria surpassed their previous tournament high of 35 against Kosovo, scoring at least 12 more than North Macedonia managed across 60 minutes.

Algeria's fast start in the opening quarter was decisive. North Macedonia, already fragile after conceding 68 goals across their first two matches, could not contain Algeria's fluid attack. The early buffer removed any pressure on the Algerians, who controlled the game from the front throughout.

No individual scorer data has been published by the tournament organisers at the time of writing, but Algeria's collective output — 37 goals, their highest in the competition — suggests a spread of contributions across the squad. Goalkeeper saves and shot efficiency data were not available from official sources.

North Macedonia will look to rebuild after conceding 74 goals across three matches (31 to Greece, an unconfirmed total to Tunisia/Italy, and 37 to Algeria), averaging over 24 goals against per game.

The provider data confirms only the 23–37 final scoreline with no period breakdown, but the trajectory is clear: Algeria have found their attacking rhythm after two mixed outings, while North Macedonia's defensive issues continue to undermine their campaign. The 14-goal gap is the widest of any match involving either side in this tournament so far.

With this result, Algeria move to 4 points from 3 matches in the six-team round-robin preliminary round. The top two sides after all five rounds advance to the gold medal match (1 September), while the third- and fourth-placed teams contest the bronze-medal match on the same day.

North Macedonia remain on 0 points and face an uphill battle to reach the medal matches. They next face Italy on 28 August, before concluding their preliminary campaign against Tunisia on 30 August.

Algeria continue their campaign against Greece on 28 August (16:30 local), then face Tunisia on 30 August in what could be a decisive match for medal positioning.

With France, Spain and Serbia — the only three nations to win women's handball gold in the last 20 years of the Mediterranean Games — all absent from Taranto 2026, a new champion will be crowned. Greece entered as the IHF's pre-tournament favourites, while Italy boast strong home support. Algeria's results (win vs Kosovo, loss to Italy, win vs North Macedonia) show they are competitive in this open field.

Algeria's 37–23 win over North Macedonia was one-way traffic from start to finish — a statement of intent from the North Africans as the group stage passes the halfway mark. North Macedonia need to find defensive answers quickly if they are to salvage their campaign, while Algeria look well placed to challenge for a medal berth.

No official attendance, venue, half-time score or individual player statistics were published for this match at the time of writing. All tournament fixtures are played under the Taranto 2026 Mediterranean Games organisation.