With a 38-15 victory, Norway equaled its own record by winning with 23 goals in an EC match. – It is too much with 24 teams in the EC for women at the present time. There are not enough good teams in Europe at the moment, believes handball expert and former national team goalkeeper Ole Erevik. Ole Erevik is clear that there are too many teams in the EC. Photo: Vidar Ruud / NTB scanpix – When you see how this match is developing, it’s okay to question whether there is too much with 24 teams in the EC, said Viaplay expert Karoline Dyhre Breivang to news during the break. At the same time, Viaplay expert Karoline Dyhre Breivang reminds that Slovakia will host the European Championship in two years, and will thus get valuable training this championship. Photo: NTB First time with 24 teams In the end Norway won with 23 goals in a game they could have lost and still won the group. – We were quite superior. Slovakia actually gave up a bit, national team manager Thorir Hergeirsson told TV 2 shortly after the end of the match. – There will be a bit of overdriving today. We see that we are a few notches better than Slovakia. It will be a good training match, said Silje Solberg-Østhassel to news. She says the following about the EC expansion: – There will always be a debate with advantages and disadvantages, and the advantage is to spread handball around the world and Europe. The point is to get more enjoyment out of handball, and if you can do that, it’s a great thing, says the national team goalkeeper. Kenneth Gabrielsen, who follows the EC as an expert for news, does not view the expansion of the championship in quite the same way as the other experts. – The association wants to spread interest in handball around. That in itself is quite nice. I am not negative about the expansion, even if the results could be great. We have to tolerate that, says Kenneth Gabrielsen. This is the first time that the EC for women is played with 24 teams. 35 teams wanted to participate. In other words, 69 per cent of the teams that wanted it made it to the EC. It includes newcomers such as Turkey and the Faroe Islands. news expert Kenneth Gabrielsen. Photo: Håkon Mosvold Larsen / NTB scanpix – Can’t get any bigger Norway open the EC by beating Slovenia 33-26. Austria was then beaten 38-24. At the same time, Slovakia has lost 37-24 against both Austria and Slovenia. Therefore, it was not so unexpected that Norway waltzed over Slovakia. Slovakia opened fresh and led 3-1, but from the 4-4 score, Norway scored 11 goals without Slovakia finding the back of the net. And from there the difference only got bigger and bigger. TV 2 commentator Harald Bredeli reminded during the match that “Norway has the pig bank team that has the pig bank Slovakia”. – There can be no greater difference in Europe than this. Slovakia is here a lot because the EC has expanded from 16 to 24 teams, said Bredeli. news expert Håvard Tvedten. Photo: Frode Søreide / news – Not watchable Another news expert, Håvard Tvedten, agrees with Kenneth Gabrielsen that the idea of 24 teams in the EC is a good one. But then the weakest teams have to get better, according to the previous national team profile, and Tvedten does not know how, for example, Slovakia works to raise the level. – It doesn’t help to invite many teams if nothing is done at the back end. There is obviously a big difference in level on the women’s side, and you don’t get much out of this. This is neither viewer-friendly nor exciting, says Tvedten. Marit Røsberg Jacobsen and Norway gave Slovakia a piggy bank. Photo: Beate Oma Dahle / NTB – The quality is getting better The president of the European handball association, Michael Wiederer, explains the increase in the number of teams, among other things, by the fact that the European championship should be equal for men and women. The EC for men had 24 teams for the first time in 2020. In the interview with Wiederer, which is published on the European Handball Federation’s website, the president also says that three more championships are needed for one to be able to conclude whether the increase is a success. So we have to wait until 2028 before we know whether the new format has been a smart change. – We will see some big victories in the tournament, but the increase to 24 teams will also have a positive effect. The quality will get better, I am very sure of that, says Wiederer. Camilla Herrem and Norway play havoc with Slovakia. Photo: Beate Oma Dahle / NTB – Slovakia is not there According to news commentator Patrick Rowlands, there is “no doubt that men’s handball is more ready for expansion in Europe than the women’s side is”. He points out that the level difference is too great. That is exactly what Kenneth Gabrielsen agrees with. – Having said that, we have had positive elements here in this championship, including Portugal and some other teams who have made a good impression, but Slovakia is unfortunately not there, believes the news expert. Water more than Norway Nor was Norway made as the water with the highest number in EC Monday. Sweden beat Turkey by a whopping 47-19. Jamnare will probably be when Norway meets Denmark in the first intermediate game on Thursday. – This is a key match to take a step closer to the semi-finals, says Silje Solberg-Østhassel to news. The intermediate stage consists of two groups of six teams, where the two best in each pool go to the semi-finals. Published 02.12.2024, at 21.56 Updated 02.12.2024, at 22.13
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