1: Limit Saga

It’s likely that Sander Sagosen will get less playing time in his WC start than in his previous championship. This was partly due to the fact that he was out (ankle surgery) for several months this fall, but also because the new national team management wanted him fitter outside of WC.

2: Come back after seven years

Norway returned to the top of the world (4th place) during the 2016 European Championships in Poland. In WC, the Norwegian team will be back in action in the city of Krakow (group stage) and Katowice (main stage).

3: Affordable resistance

Norway is the favorite to win the pool, which also includes North Macedonia (Friday), Argentina (Sunday) and the Netherlands (Tuesday). Anything other than three Norwegian wins would be a surprise.

4: Meeting Germany?

The three best of the pool advanced. IN THE main round Norway meets three teams from a group in which Germany is top of the table. Serbia and Qatar are also likely to be Norway’s opponents in the second pool phase.

5: Olympic champion in the quarterfinals?

The best two from each of the four main draw groups qualify for the quarter-finals. In this case, for Norway, it will be played in Gdansk, in the far north of Poland. Here, there could be a meeting with the French or Spanish Olympic winners if the Norwegian boys are in the tournament for the first round of the cup.

6: Have to wait for the neighboring settlement

The earliest Norway could face defending champions Denmark (having won the last two World Cup finals) or European Championship hosts Sweden (last year’s European champions) after the quarter-finals.

7: On the TV stand

Kristian Kjelling applied for the job as manager of the Norwegian national team, but was unsuccessful when Jonas Wille was preferred. Kjelling will instead be an expert commentator on TV 3/Viaplay – including during the Norway game with Daniel Høglund.

8: Time for gold?

The Norwegian handball boys have lost two finals in the World Cup: Against France (2017) and Denmark (2019). After that, Norway took bronze at EC 2020. The last three championships were disappointing and without a place in the semifinals for Norway.

9: Playoffs in Sweden

The WC final, bronze medal match and 5th place match (possibly important in terms of Olympic qualification) will be played in Stockholm on Sunday 29 January

10: Olympic carrots

The winner of the WC is guaranteed an Olympic place in the 2024 Olympics. If France (the host country of the Olympics) wins gold at the World Cup, the team that loses in the final will be given the go-ahead to play in the Olympics.