Blonz was thrown into the game after Sebastian Barthold hit a goal drought. Goalkeeper Torbjørn Bergerud was also instrumental as Norway turned things around after going three goals down in the first half.

The result means Norway is looking very good with a view to finishing between the top two in the main draw. That earned a place in the quarter-finals.

– The day we figure out how to play the first half, it will be great. We didn’t speed up before the break, and they were allowed to do almost as they pleased. After the break, we gave the keeper a better shape and played a smarter attacking game. Then it will be easy to play handball, Gøran S. Johannessen told TV3. He was voted the best in Norway.

Norway will face Qatar on Saturday and Germany on Monday in their next matches. Team Norway is still in control of its own destiny in WC. The result against Serbia proved decisive going into the cup tie.

It wasn’t looking good for Norway in the match half played in Katowice. Serbia secured the initiative from the start. The Balkan team’s physically tough defensive play created difficult conditions for the Norwegian attack. Among other things, Sander Sagosen was mostly completely neutralized before the break.

Norway only scored 14 of 23 first half shots against Serbia’s 17 goals in 23 attempts. Serbia also scored in the last second of the first half and led 17-14 at the break.

push

It was a meager 19-14 going into the second half. Then things looked bad for Norway. But in much the same way as against the Netherlands on Tuesday, the Norwegian boys hit back.

– I said the same thing during the break as during the timeout, that we have to invest throughout the game and make the right analysis when we take lots of shots, and not stress. Perhaps the most important thing is the intensity at the back. “It will be time before we reach desperate levels but when it does it’s great,” national team manager Jonas Wille told TV3.

Sagosen came alive and scored three goals, including equalizing at 22-22. Then Blonz secured Norway’s lead for the first time in the match at 23-22. The same man ran 24-22.

After the break, goalkeeper Bergerud made several important saves. He and Kristian Sæverås traded several times early in the match.

Nice reunion

Six Norwegian players returned to the hall where the national team began their journey to the top of the world during EC 2016. Norway is number four.

The hopes of repeating seven years ago and a place in the semifinals are still alive after the match against Serbia.

Norway’s ability to come back from trailing goals is a quality not many teams have.