Norway were in front throughout, with Hungary never coming closer than two goals and the record EURO winners clearly in command through the second half. With their 29th goal, scored by Henny Reistad, Norway hit 3,500 goals at the Women’s EHF EURO, after already holding the record for most goals scored in the competition.
Norway now await their opponents to decide the EHF EURO 2024 title, with France and Denmark to play the second semi-final on Friday night.
The Grundfos Player of the Match award went to Norway goalkeeper Katrine Lunde, who made 11 saves at a rate of 41 per cent as she booked her eighth EHF EURO final.
SEMI-FINAL
Hungary vs Norway 30:22 (11:13)
- Hungary were immediately on the back foot and left chasing their opponents, as Norway streaked ahead to lead 4:1 after five minutes
- the closest Hungary came after that was two goals, while Norway’s biggest advantage in the first half was at 13:8 in the 22nd minute and the distance became clearer in the second period
- Hungary changed their defensive system constantly, aiming to control Norway’s back court, but MVP of the EHF EURO 2022 Reistad and Thale Rushfeldt Deila still ran rampant, scoring the first four goals for Norway and combining for seven in the opening 30 minutes; when Hungary did manage to control those two, right back Stine Skogrand stepped up with two consecutive goals that forced Hungary to reconsider their defence again
- after a strong start, Lunde went from a 43 per cent save rate when Hungary called the first timeout in the 13th minute (5:9) to under 30 per cent at half-time, but she still had a bigger impact than Hungary’s Blanka Böde-Bíró, who was replaced by Kinga Janurik in the 18th minute
- although Janurik had a solid game, helping spur Hungary’s run of three unanswered goals that closed the gap from 9:13 to two before half-time, Norway pulled away to a 23:16 advantage with 15 minutes remaining
- “final mode Norway” had well and truly arrived by the middle of the second half, with Lunde reaching a save rate of 42 per cent as the last 10 minutes began and the defending title holders led 24:17, at which point victory was in sight
Norway reach 13th EHF EURO final
In 15 previous editions of the Women’s EHF EURO, Norway were part of the final 12 times. Norway have now qualified for the Women’s EHF EURO final for the 13th time and their 27th final across all three major competitions, adding the Olympic Games and World Championship. In addition, reaching the final means they are assured a medal, which will be their 14th at the EHF EURO and 34th overall.
The Scandinavian powerhouse have the chance to take the record they already hold for most title wins to 10. Once reaching the final, Norway only lost it three times — once to Montenegro and twice to Denmark, who could be their opponents in the title-deciding match on Sunday, with the second semi-final to be played later on Friday.
The individual record holder for EURO titles, goalkeeper Katrine Lunde, also now has the chance to extend her count to seven, while wing Camilla Herrem could add her sixth, keeper Silje Solberg-Østhassel her fifth, and Sanna Solberg-Isaksen and Stine Skogrand their fourth.
I feel that defence was the key, we were really good in defence and they struggled to score goals when we were in six against six in the defence. Our goalkeepers, again, saved a lot and we can run and play good in attack and get a lot of goals in the end. It’s a good victory.
In the second half they dominated so much from the 10th minute, they started to get a bigger gap. I am sad because we wanted to show that we are here in the best four European teams, but we have one more match on Sunday that we want to win and get the bronze medal, and I hope that it will work out for us.
