Norway they retained their European women handball title on Sunday (November 20), beating Denmark 27:25 in a thrilling final in Ljubljana.
The win in the Slovenian capital sees last year’s Tokyo 2020 bronze medalists clear one vacant spot from EHF EURO 2022 to Paris 2024 where they will face off against the hosts and reigning Olympic champions France.
Player of the match Nora Mork he scored eight goals as the Norwegians won their ninth title in the last 13 tournaments.
Goalkeeping engineer returns to Norway
Denmark, aiming for their first European title since their third triumph in 2002, swiftly defeated the Norwegians by overcoming an overwhelming goalkeeper-backed defense Sandra Toft.
At the other end, right behind Louise Vinter Burgaard he was in great shape when the Danes were leading 9:4.
Toft’s opposite number Silja Solberg Mørk were also excellent, scoring seven goals from seven attempts in the first half, but didn’t stop Denmark from taking a 15-12 lead at half-time.
After the restart, Norway began to catch up with the 42-year-old Catherine Lunde picking up where Solberg left off in goal.
Midway through the half, Denmark suddenly lost its ability to score and left nearly eight minutes without finding a net.
This allowed Norway to take the lead for the first time and Denmark managed to push them off.
But Toft couldn’t help himself Henny Reistad a long-range strike with just over two minutes left to give Norway a 26–24 lead they refused to relinquish as Lunde finished with four saves from 10 shots.
The Danes won Wednesday’s main-round clash between these two teams, although both teams had already qualified for the semi-finals.
In the end, they had to settle for silver, which was their best performance since 2004, when they also lost in the final to Norway.
Reistad’s decisive endgame contribution proved to be on point as she was awarded MVP of the tournament, with Mørk scoring 50 goals to win the top scorer award.
Montenegro ahead of France by bronze
Inspiring goalkeeper performance from Marta Batinovic he helped Montenegro to a 27–25 victory over France in the third-place playoff.
Grace Zadi A 7m buzzer shot made it 22-22 but Montenegro beat the Olympic champions by sending off the right wing star Jovanka Radicevic retired with a bronze medal.
