Red became very important with a decisive score in the late phase.

The Norwegian team went five and six goals down several times during the game. The turn to victory means Norway’s chances of a place in the quarter-finals next Wednesday are good.

– It looked bad at first. We tried and tried to find a defensive constellation to give us confidence against the fast-paced Netherlands, and in the end we had to stick with something we hadn’t been trained for. It fits best against the type of players we meet, national team manager Jonas Wille told TV3.

– We thought that against fast players like that we should have a combination of power and speed in the middle. We struggled for a while with a lack of offensive flow but the lads were very good at adjusting in the second half.

Most of the first half was weak from the Norwegian side. At most, the Netherlands led by six goals (14-8 and 15-9). The Netherlands has a very high finish, often staged by the smallest man on the field, Luc Steins (height 172 centimeters).

– Such an extreme player is the worst big player one can face, said Wille.

Towards the break, Norway slightly raised the game and rose to 13-17.

Everything turned around

It was 14-19 at the start of the second half. It wasn’t looking rosy for the big favorites Norway, but the Norwegians weren’t giving up.

Norway’s four quick scores got the game really open again at 18-19 for the Netherlands.

After just 41 minutes, Kevin Maagerø Gulliksen made it 20-20 before Gøran S. Johannessen sent Norway ahead (21-20) for the first time since 1-0.

The two-goal lead was secured when Sander Sagosen over-done and scored.

Several goals from Rød on the field helped Norway to victory. The Netherlands’ last goal came in the final seconds of the game, when it was already decided.

– We made it difficult for ourselves, but it’s a great feeling to win, Rød told TV3.

In the spotlight

Croatian Matija Gubica and Boris Milosevic refereed the match between Norway and the Netherlands. It was one of two World Cup pairs accused of match-fixing several years ago. All four judges have denied the allegation of judge fraud.

– They (the referees, ed.) are above all suspicions, until proven guilty, commented the International Handball Federation (IHF) a few days ago.