Norway got help from France – ready for World Cup quarterfinals – NRK Sport – Sports news, results and broadcast schedule

– I’m very happy about everything. It would have been too good to go home tomorrow with our performance, says Sander Sagosen to the press from the hotel in Egypt.

It was a Norwegian victory over Iceland in a match characterized by many goals, saves by the goalkeeper and sent-offs. But it was the agreement between Portugal and France that decided Norway’s fate at the World Cup.

A French victory or a draw would send the Norwegian handball masters to the quarter-finals. And it soon became clear that France had no plans to take it easy, even though they could continue with losses. At halftime, “Les Bleus” led by four. Then they increased to six, eight, and 10.

But not many of the players watched the match, which ended 32-23 against France.

– It was a strange experience. We sat on the bus and watched a little live results and we saw two more, three more and then four, but we said we never thought it could work. It was an opposite “curse,” says Sagosen with a smile.

– I didn’t watch much, but Børge (Lund) wanted to watch and I have the only PC with a VPN so he borrowed it. I tried to delay the time and probably stayed in the shower for 25 minutes, says Berge.

Complies with Spain or Hungary

France then wins the group, ahead of Norway.

– He deserves it. Norway also beat Portugal and then it’s only fair that they move on, says NRK expert Håvard Tvedten.

– It’s okay to sleep tonight. There will be no full party and heels on the roof even if we are happy. We deserve to move on after what we’ve accomplished here, says Sagosen.

Who the teams will face off with on Wednesday will be decided when Spain and Hungary settle for victory in the main round group on Monday night. Norway meets the winner of the group. In either case, Berge will sit up straight and watch a video of both of them.

– The more attempts we have against Spain, the closer we will get. We have been in a firing squad before. We had a lot of control over Hungary, but they have made strides in this championship. I’m not sure who is the best, says the coach of the national team.

If Norway reaches the semi-finals, they will face Denmark or Egypt.

16 expulsions and victory

Iceland’s hopes for the World Cup were already exhausted before the Norway meeting, but they still did well.

Handball experts, on the other hand, questioned several of the expulsions of both teams. In the first 22 minutes of the match, the referees had raised two fingers eight times. The judges held the strict line and didn’t give up until they gave 16 ejections.

Although Norway were three ahead, they lost the lead at halftime. Then it was all 18-18.

Norway’s lead increased to five, but Iceland fought back and were suddenly just one goal away.

The Norwegians kept a cool head and Kristian Sæverås made several winning saves. Then Norway also won the match.

– We want to play handball well and take steps forward. Offensively he is very good, but we are struggling with his left back. There are a lot of good performances, and that’s what we did, we’ll see, says Christian Berge to TV3.