– We needed this. For us, the World Cup started today, and from today onwards there will be close matches. So it is very, very important that we got a tough game now. This is what Norwegian assistant coach Mats Olsson told news during the break of Friday’s World Cup match against Slovenia. – It’s delicious. It was very important to us. Then of course it is also very nice to get a big win at the end. It’s a perfect combination really, says Stine Bredal Oftedal to news about finally getting a feel for resistance. After Norway’s margin of victory had been a whopping 19.25 goals on average in the first four matches in the World Cup, it became more even against the Slovenian women – at least initially. Because in the end it was another great victory for Norway, who won 34–21. – They followed for 20 minutes. Eventually they couldn’t bear to run anymore and they got tired, says national team manager Thorir Hergerisson to news. – I had expected victory, but I didn’t think it would be such an easy victory. There was overtaking, says news expert Amanda Kurtovic. With another victory, the Norwegian women are already ready for the quarter-finals of the WC. – It feels very good. I am very happy about it, says captain Oftedal. WENT AHEAD: Norway captain Stine Bredal Oftedal was voted best on the pitch against Slovenia. Photo: Beate Oma Dahle / NTB Group final against France The last match in the main round against France will be played on Sunday, and the match in Trondheim will decide who wins the group. – I have followed France in every match here, and I think they are extremely strong. It will be something else, says Camilla Herrem to news. – It will be tough. There is a lot of pace in France. They will try to run at us a lot, but they will have a fight, says Mørk. – It will be a good test against France to train for what you want to do next in the championship. It’s nice to take self-confidence into a quarter-final, says Kurtovic. Slovenia had the pleasure of scoring the first goal of the game, before Henny Reistad – with two shots that bounced into the goal via the goalkeeper – turned the Norwegian lead. The teams took turns to lead until 6–6, but then Norway started to pull away halfway through the first half. BIG GAME: Nora Mørk scored five goals before the break. Photo: Beate Oma Dahle / NTB Norway set off Led by Reistad and a penalty-proof Nora Mørk, the Norwegian locomotive set up a speed that the Slovenians were unable to follow, and the teams went into the break with a Norwegian 17–12 lead. – I am satisfied with five out of five. It’s good to feel that it fits. I want to be the one who takes the penalties, says Mørk, who thus scored all five of his goals from the penalty spot. – I don’t think Slovenia is a team that can keep pace with Norway for 60 minutes. They don’t have as good width as Norway, Kurtovic said during the break. And the expert was right, because Norway only used ten minutes of the second half to increase their lead to ten goals. It stopped completely for Slovenia, and Camilla Herrem continued to counter scores. With six new scores for the 37-year-old, she is now up to 33 in total in the championship. Norway continued to pull away little by little from the Slovenians, and Thorir Hergeirsson allowed all players a few minutes on the field. – This was delicious. A real team win, says Silje Solberg-Østhassel to news.
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Norway ready for the quarter-finals of the Handball World Cup – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcast schedule
