It was a tight, even affair in the first half. It ended 13-13 after a duel of goalkeepers (Katrine Lunde started for Norway) could not separate the teams.

Sweden were up 15-13 at the start after the break, but three quick goals from Stine Ruscetta Skogrand, Sunniva Næs Andersen (his first score in three attempts) and Vilde Mortensen Ingstad, meant that within minutes Norway secured a 20-18 management scoreline.

In that period, goalkeeper Lunde also played very well.

– We are very happy that we won. We’ve talked a little bit about how it lags in a game like that and you don’t have flow all the time. It has stressed us out in the past, national team manager Thorir Hergeirsson told Viaplay.

– We closed well again in the second half, he continued.

Nice lunde

Norway has not given up on that move. The Swedes made a somewhat desperate effort at the last minute but it was not enough. The 42-year-old Lunde continued with a save towards the final signal. He was voted the best in the field by the judges in the hall.

Henny Ella Reistad finished as Norway’s top scorer with seven goals from eleven shots.

Sweden held Norway to 30-30 in WC last year. Sweden is the only team in the World Cup that did not lose to Norway.

Denmark beat Croatia 26-17 on Saturday. This means Denmark is guaranteed qualification for the semifinals if they beat Norway on Wednesday.

Meeting

The Norwegian team met Slovenia two days earlier, and Slovenia was fully involved in the battle for a semi ticket at home. Results in the group are still unclear, but Norway’s position is strong.

Norway’s previous EC loss came against Romania in 2018. Since then, Norway has played 15 times and won all 15 matches.

The European Championship has been a Norwegian affair for many years. In total there are eight Norwegian gold medals with the first title in 1998. Followed by wins in 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2014, 2016 and 2020.