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PREGNANT: Handball goalkeeper Katrine Lunde is expecting a child. Photo: Bjørn S. Delebekk / VG
Katrine Lunde (40) is pregnant and out of action for the European Championship at home. Norway’s rivals release a goalkeeper for whom most people have enormous respect.
Norway and Denmark share the championship that runs from December 3 to 20. The Norwegian girls are scheduled to play their matches in Trondheim.
National team captain Stine Bredal Oftedal believes the team loses a major x factor with pregnant Lunde out.
– Both as a person and as a player, the lack of Katrine is a loss for the team. There is no doubt about that. The respect he has among both his teammates and opponents, and his x-factor, Oftedal says.
– But it’s incredibly nice that she’s pregnant. Triumph over everything.
The captain has a lot of faith in those who will guard the goal.
– We have two other good goalkeepers. I am convinced that Silje (Solberg) will do well. Hunog Emily (Stang Sando) complement each other, says Oftedal happily.
Katrine Lunde informed the director of the national team, Thorir Hergeirsson, about the pregnancy last week.
– It is a great joy for her and her family. It’s the most important thing for a lot of people, so it’s just for enjoyment, Hergeirsson tells VG.
Lunde will soon be a mother of two.
Clearly, Katrine would have been involved if she hadn’t, Hergeirsson says.
– Is Norway weakened without Lunde in goal?
– Yes, Katrine is one of the best goalkeepers in the world. But we have three other goalkeepers who have done good things. We know what Silje (Solberg) represents, Emily (Stang Sando) played well and Rikke (Granlund) was good in the Champions League match. Now the trio of goalkeepers will be part of the realization of the dream of being at the top of the World Cup, answers the coach of the national team.
During last year’s World Cup, several key players were injured, including Nora Mørk, Veronica Kristiansen and Katrine Lunde.
This year, most are back and on the team, but Vipers goalkeeper Lunde announced Tuesday that she is pregnant and therefore will not join:
– Tittei, writes on his Instagram profile next to an ultrasound image.
It is the other children of the handball goalkeeper who are on the way. He already has a daughter, Atina (5), with Serbian soccer coach Nikola Trajkovic.
Lunde returned this summer after a serious knee injury. He suffered it in May of last year.
– It has been a tough battle to be among the 16 selected. But we have a good combination of an experienced team and young courage. We have a team hungry for precious metals the last Sunday before Christmas. Along the way, we will work very hard every day, and we want to entertain, excite and create excitement in the thousands of homes as we usually do in December, says the director of the national team Thorir Hergeirsson about the withdrawal in a statement on the website of the handball association.
There is still uncertainty about how the championship will take place. Handball president Kåre Geir Lio told VG on Monday that the final answer will arrive on Friday this week at the earliest.
The previous European Championship ended with a disappointing fifth place for Norway. Last year they ranked fourth during the World Cup in Japan and in 2017 Norway took silver at the World Cup after losing to France in the final. The last championship gold came during the 2016 European Championship.
The national team captain believes Norway will fight back violently now.
– There is a lot of quality in the team. It’s a mix of experience and new and hungry. I experience that we are now an extremely hungry gang. Now it’s our turn again. But it’s a lot of work if he’s going to go, Oftedal says of the gold work.
Due to the corona pandemic, the team has made plans to avoid barrack disease.
– If you stay in Norway, we think of a social room where we can have coffee, play something and chat. We need to get more out of an area or a room. We live on top of each other a lot anyway, but now we lose the chance to get out. We have to deal with it. We fix that, Oftedal says.
And it could get too close.
– Inside the team, there is a good ceiling height, we take things quickly if something comes up. With this gang, things are going well. Camilla (Herrem) and I on the captain’s team need a little extra responsibility, says Oftedal.
