Paris 2024 | Egypt fly past Norway to reach quarter-finals

Norway hoped to extend their three-match winning run, but in a very tense game, it was Egypt who finally snatched two points and booked their quarter-final ticket, with a fantastic 26:25 win. 

PARIS 2024 OLYMPIC GAMES – PRELIMINARY ROUND
GROUP В
Norway vs Egypt 25:26 (13:14)

Early in the match, Sebastian Barthold and Tobias Grøndahl opened a 2:0 lead for Norway, but the next time one of the rivals created a two-goal advantage only in the 22nd minute, when two successive goals from Sander Sagosen – actually his only ones in the game from seven attempts -  helped the Scandinavians to pull ahead at 9:7.

Before that, the match featured a really close fight, as both sides simply traded goals for a long time. For Norway, right back Harald Reinkind scored six of his seven goals in the first half, and a streak of consecutive goals saw his team taking a 12:9 lead with five minutes to go before the break.

But like in the previous matches at Paris 2024, Egypt showed their quality and determination, turning the tide in the closing stage of the first half. Ahmed Hesham had a special impact for 'The Pharaohs", helping his team to have a 5:1 run before half-time and establish a one-goal lead.

Norway needed four and a half minutes after the restart to take their first lead in the second half, 16:15. But some time later, their line player Magnus Gullerud received a direct red card for a harsh foul on Mohab Abdelhak, who had to get a medical treatment and left the court on a stretcher. 

Meanwhile, Egypt's goalkeeper Mohamed Aly started to get into the groove once again, and his saves helped 'The Pharaohs" to hit back again, 19:17. But very soon the pendulum swung back, as the Africans could not score for seven minutes, Norwegians used a 4:0 run to take a 21:19 lead. 

It was a very hard-fought game in which both rivals could have won, yet the Africans had the upper hand in the closing minutes. With almost one minute to play, Seif Elderaa made the score 26:24 before Grøndahl slashed the gap. Following a timeout, Egypt had their last attack but lost the ball, giving Norway a chance to draw level. However, Simen Lyse's last-second shot was saved by Aly, who made his seventh save of the day for a 35% save efficiency.

With their second win in four matches, Egypt are through to the quarter-finals, and Norway, who had booked their knockout phase ticket before, still have a chance to finish top of Group B – but to reach that goal, they need to beat Denmark on Sunday, when Egypt face Argentina and can finish second, provided that the reigning world champions beat Norway.