Norway cruise towards main round berth

Norway once again celebrated in Ljubljana, this time against Switzerland. The reigning champions welcomed their 14th consecutive EHF EURO win and booked their place in the main round even before their last preliminary round match against Hungary, who are also through to the next stage courtesy of the Norwegian victory.

Switzerland caused Hungary troubles in their first match but could endanger Norway in any way from the start of the match, but gained valuable experience as tournament debutants.

GROUP A

Switzerland vs Norway 21:38 (9:19)

• the inexperienced team of Switzerland could not keep up with their opponents once the opening minutes had passed; they went seven minutes without a goal, allowing Norway a 5:0 run
• after star players like Nora Mørk and Stine Oftedal helped Norway to a significant lead, head coach Thorir Hergeirsson let more and more youngsters play
• on both sides, goalkeepers had a good first half, Lea Schüpbach with six and Silje Solberg with eight saves
• the first double-digit lead was already a reality in the 26th minute and the gap between the two sides was just getting wider
• Katrine Lunde equalled the all-time record for most caps at the EHF EURO, sharing the best mark of 54 with French standout Siraba Dembélé
• Player of the Match was Silje Solberg after a great performance between the posts in the first half; young talent Mia Emmenegger was Swiss top scorer with five goals

Gaining experience

While Switzerland were fighting with their whole hearts despite trailing by a two-digit number, they knew it was all about learning and getting experience, in regard to the EHF EURO 2024 which they will co-host.

In a way, gaining experience was also true for Norway, as several new names took their responsibility and performed well. All players on the match sheet appeared on the court, and 11 of 14 court players scored at least one. Even though head coach Thorir Hergeirsson might not be satisfied with the defensive performance, this team can only progress as the tournament goes on and can write yet another successful story.

Deila Thale Rushfeldt, left back of Norway: “We were working hard and a lot of players got a chance to play. We kept our concentration high throughout the game. We did not let them score many goals.”

Lea Schüpbach, goalkeeper of Switzerland: “We knew that Norway have top players. They are fast and it was hard to stop them. In the second half, we performed better and we could do something more compared to the first part of the match.”