Paris 2024 | Prudent Norway control Slovenia to seal quarter-finals berth

01 Aug. 2024

Paris 2024 | Prudent Norway control Slovenia to seal quarter-finals berth


Norway are the third team to clinch its quarter-finals berth from Group A, after they secured their third win in four matches in the women’s handball competition at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, 29:22, against Slovenia.

PARIS 2024 OLYMPIC GAMES – PRELIMINARY ROUND
GROUP A
Slovenia vs Norway 22:29 (10:15)


The average margin of win for Norway against Slovenia was, historically, over 12 goals per match. But at the Olympic Games, especially after Slovenia were coming into the match with a 19-goal loss against Germany in their minds, things will ever be more balanced.

Due to medical reasons, Nora Mork was replaced by Norway for this match with back Thale Rushfeld Deila, therefore the Scandinavian side did not have their best back line available, but coach Thorir Hergeirsson constantly rotated his players, unlike in other matches, especially as Norway registered a good start and never looked back.

Still, Norway had the best goalkeeper in the competition so far between the posts, Katrine Lunde, who entered the match with a 44% overall saving efficiency, and did a great job in the first half too, stopping eight shots for a 40% saving efficiency, constantly frustrating Slovenia’s attack.

On the other side of the ball, Norway did just enough to create a comfortable lead, with 10 players scoring at least one goal in the first half, especially as Slovenia’s goals came in bursts of two, with eight minutes and 38 seconds between the eighth and the ninth, when Norway were already up by five goals.

It was also the gap at the break, 15:10, but Slovenia did not give up in the second half and continued to press, with right back Ana Gros being once again their best scorer in the match, with five goals, improving her overall tally at Paris 2024 to 21 goals, enough to be on the fourth place in the top goal scorer standings.

Slovenia did cut the gap to only three goals, 16:19, only for Norway to score three goals in three minutes for a 3:0 unanswered run to increase their lead to six goals – the biggest gap in the match until that point – in the 45th minute, 22:16. And from that moment on, it was game over, as the reigning European champions controlled the match with ease, increasing the lead until the end of the match.

The 29:22 win meant that Norway joins Sweden and Denmark in the quarter-finals of the women’s handball competition at Paris 2024, as only one spot will be left in the last matchday of Group A, decided between Germany, Slovenia and the Republic of Korea.
With three wins in four matches, Norway are tied with Sweden and Denmark on points before the last match of the group, against Germany. The Scandinavian side secured their quarter-finals berth and will finish first if they finish tied on points either with Denmark or with Denmark and Sweden, as they hold the tie-breaker.

Slovenia have their fate out of their hands, as they face Sweden on Saturday. They need to finish tied on points with the Republic of Korea or to have more points than Germany and the Asian side, holding the tie-breaker only against Korea.