Piroschka Van De Wouw/REUTERS
Try, try, still lose: Germany’s Annika Lott on the ball
End of surprises: The Norwegian handball players met the expectations placed on them in Rotterdam on Sunday and became world champions for the fifth time. In the 23:20 win against co-hosts Germany, 34-year-old goalkeeper Katrine Lunde showed a strong performance in her last international match with 14 saves. After Olympic gold in the summer and European Championship title last year, coach Ole Gustav Gjekstad’s team has once again proven that it is the ultimate in women’s handball compared to other countries.
However, the final was close: The DHB selection got into the game well, also because the favorites left gaps in defense for penetration into the circle and also did not protect the backcourt cleanly enough. Even though the Germans led repeatedly, it remained close, also because Norway lost a lot of balls in attack, but the subsequent free shots in the counterattack did not end up in the goal. On top of that, Markus Gaugisch’s team had the ball stolen from them shortly before the half-time siren and when they were outnumbered – it ended up in the empty goal and so the score was eleven both at the break.
The second half began with great nervousness for the Germans, especially the attacking game stalled. Norway were in a better position and established a three-goal lead in the 37th minute, which their opponents struggled to maintain. Ten minutes later, Emily Vogel (née Bölk) and Co. managed to equalize at 17:17, but the Norwegians pulled away again. The last chance to turn things around: Katharina Filter parried a seven-meter shot in the 55th minute. However, the German offensive remained too devoid of ideas even in the final phase. Norway confidently turned the clock.
It had not been expected before the tournament that this final game would even take place: Norway, as usual, swept all their opponents off the table, but the German selection had also won every match up until Sunday. They even eliminated the defending champions from France (29:23; 15:12) in the semifinals. Despite having a home advantage as hosts alongside the Netherlands, Germany was by no means the favorite: in Paris there was only one win in the group phase and they were eliminated in the quarter-finals against the French. And the previous major tournaments also suggested that it wasn’t enough for the top. It was all the more surprising that Gaugisch’s squad, which had little changed in terms of personnel, presented itself without any major problems, especially the nervous opening minutes. And rightly so, the 21-year-old half-right Viola Leuchter became the best young player again after her honor at the 2024 European Championship tournament.
