Norway became the second team to punch their ticket to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, after their second consecutive win in the Men’s Olympic Qualification Tournament #3, 29:25, against hosts Hungary.

With four points, Norway have secured the first place in the group before the match against Tunisia on Sunday, while Hungary face a must-win clash against Portugal to secure their ticket to the Olympics.

Men’s Olympic Qualification Tournament #3
Norway vs Hungary 29:25 (16:13)

This was always billed as the pivotal match of the Men’s Olympic Qualification Tournament #3 in Tatabanya and Norway looked to have the upper hand, especially as their style matched Hungary’s like a glove, with the Scandinavian side having won the last four mutual matches in major international competitions in the last seven years.

But few would have expected Norway to take such a commanding lead – four goals after only 12 minutes, 8:4 – with Jonas Wille’s side firing from all cylinders, with goalkeeper Torbjorn Bergerud saving three shots and centre back Tobias Grondahl shining in attack, with some excellent goals.

Having star left back Sander Sagosen sidelined on the bench due to conceding two early two-minute suspensions did not prove problematic for Norway, as the Scandinavian side constantly found ways to score against a Hungarian side which failed to produce anything in defence.

After conceding a goal in the first 10 shots he faced, experienced goalkeeper Roland Mikler was replaced by László Bartucz and the second-string goalkeeper did produce four saves in six minutes to balance the match. Nevertheless, Norway were still ahead, 16:13, at the break and Hungary needed some much needed improvement to turn the match around.

However, Norway continued to pounce and enjoyed a flawless start of the second half, as Grondahl went back to his scoring ways, fueling a 5:1 run to start the last part of the match, when Norway also created the largest difference until that point, 21:14, with Hungary left reeling and coach Chema Rodriguez calling an early team time-out.

For Hungary, which was facing Portugal in the last match, it was a matter of limiting the damage from that moment on, especially as Portugal had a +5 goal difference, with a larger one for Hungary ensuring that a draw in Sunday’s last match was enough to help the home side progress to Paris 2024.

And the pressure was enough for the hosts that Sagosen, a crucial cog in Norway’s machine, conceded his third suspension and, subsequently, was disqualified with 16 minutes to go, creating a void in the Scandinavian’s side attack.

Capitalising on that, Hungary started to get closer to their opponents, with László Bartucz deputising between the posts and improving his saving efficiency to 47% with 10 minutes to go in the match, as Hungary cut the gap to only two goals, 24:26, especially thanks to Bartucz and their excellent 5-1 defence, which really put a dent into Norway’s attack.

Yet Sagosen’s absence was covered by an excellent match from Grondahl (eight goals and four assists) and left wing Alexandre Blonz (seven goals), as Norway eventually kept their ground, ran down the clock and escaped victorious, 29:25, with their second win in as many matches in the Olympic Qualification Tournament #3 bringing them the tickets to Paris 2024.

This is the third Olympics berth sealed by Norway in history, after the ones at Munich 1972 and Tokyo 2020, and the first time when the Scandinavian side makes it to the Olympics in back-to-back editions.

On the other hand, Hungary, which are now on a +5 goal difference (58:53), need a win against Portugal, as Paulo Pereira’s side is also on a +5 goal difference (66:61), but with a larger number of goals scored, with this being the fourth tie-break criteria in case of a draw in points and a draw in the head-to-head match.

hummel Player of the Match: László Bartucz (Hungary)