– They realize that they have won this gold, said news commentator Patrick Sten Rowlands when the French players gave each other hugs before the end of the match. The Norwegian players dreamed of World Cup gold and revenge against France after the bitter loss earlier in the championship. But the dream broke for the Norwegian stars in Herning, Denmark. France were again too strong and won the final 31–28. As a result, Norway was unable to take its third straight championship gold. The team won the EC last year and the WC the year before. When the referee blew the match off, the French players threw themselves at each other’s throats. At the same time, despairing Norwegian handball stars put their heads in their hands. – We lose a little against ourselves. We put ourselves in difficult situations in an established attack, says news expert Kenneth Gabrielsen and adds: – We make simple mistakes. Unfortunately, that is the conclusion. It is likely that neither Thorir Hergeirsson nor the Norwegian players are particularly impressed by what they performed in defense and in the goalkeeper position before the break. Scarecrow It was an intense and exciting opening to the final where the two star teams followed each other closely. The first 30 minutes were characterized by terrific attacking play at both ends with few goalkeeper saves. When the teams went to the break the scoreboard showed an incredible 20-17 to France on the scoreboard. – We know that Norway has a target of a maximum of 12 goals against at half-time. It has been over for a long time, said news commentator Patrick Sten Rowlands when it was 17-14 to France after 23 minutes. Photo: Beate Oma Dahle / NTB – Absolutely terrible defensive play, concluded Viaplay expert Gunnar Pettersen. news expert Kenneth Gabrielsen also understood little of what happened on the floor. – This is almost a final result for the break. It has been surprising. But the things we are struggling with at the back, I think we will be able to fix after the break, said Gabrielsen. Photo: Beate Oma Dahle / NTB To the final after a crazy World Cup semi Norway made it to the World Cup final in Herning in incredible fashion. The Norwegian stars had to go into extra time against Denmark – and then the stage was set for the Henny Reistad show: the 24-year-old scored all the goals for Norway in the extra time and sent Norway to the final with 0.2 seconds to go. It is really only the aforementioned Denmark and final opponent France that have given Thorir Hergeirsson’s crew a real fight. Norway’s only loss in the World Cup came in the group final against France – a match where Norway never got up to the level they wanted. Earlier in the day, the home crowd could cheer for WC bronze after Denmark beat neighbors Sweden 28–27.
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Final nightmare for Norway – the experts gaped at the absurd match – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcasting schedule
