Pedersen leads Norway to win thriller

GROUP 1

Spain vs Norway 34:35 (16:16)

H2H: 14-0-5
Top scorers: Aleix Gómez 8/9 (ESP); August Pedersen 11/13 (NOR)
Goalkeeper saves: Ignacio Biosca 10/43, Sergey Hernández 0/0 (ESP); Robin Haug 8/21, Torbjørn Bergerud 3/21 (NOR)
POTM presented by Grundfos: August Pedersen (NOR)

• in the first 20 minutes, both teams played with full speed, a high number of goals and also many mistakes — with light advantages for Spain
• backed by left wing August Pedersen, who scored six of his 11 goals before the break, Norway took the lead, before a huge variety of Spanish scorers levelled the half-time score
• in the second half, both sides focused on position attacks, where Spain had more individual class and also more options, meaning they were constantly slightly ahead through the middle of the period
• when Norway converted two Spanish failed passes into two counterattack goals within 20 seconds for a 30:29 lead, Spanish coach Jordi Ribera took his last timeout
• the final minute started with a level result, then Tobias Grøndahl netted for the 35:34, followed by two video reviews, a failed Spanish last pass and Norwegian celebration

Steals decide an equal encounter

It is rare that referees use two video replays in the last 11 seconds of the match. First, they analysed a foul by Martin Hovde, who received two minutes, followed by a Spanish free-throw. Then the very last second was analysed, when Spain were in ball possession but the time was over. The result: no final attack for Spain, and a win for Norway.

The frantic end to the match followed two completely different halves, not in terms of the result, but in terms of the style of playing. In the first 20 minutes the match went back and forth, with goals on both sides almost every 20 seconds. It was a high-speed spectacle, but in full speed both caused many mistakes.

When Spain and Norway decelerated after the break, it became a defence-oriented battle with much longer attacks. Spain played extremely patiently, searching for the gaps, as Norway waited for steals, which they finally managed to use to get ahead and win.

Photos © kolektiff images