Norway want to test against the best

When Norway's women's national team takes part in the Golden League in Aarhus, Denmark the coming weekend (October 5 to 7), it will be the Olympic gold medallists' first appearance after their triumph at the 2012 London Games in August.

However, some of the gold winners are not at national coach Thorir Hergeirsson's disposal for the matches against Denmark, Russia and France.

Some are injured, some need rest and one – Kari Mette Johansen – has waved goodbye to the national team goodbye as the EHF's official website reported last week.

But Hergeirsson believes to have the absent players well replaced and sees the Golden League as an opportunity to test new players ahead of the Women's EHF EURO 2012 in Serbia in December.

Eurohandball.com: What can you achieve by taking part in a tournament like the Golden League at this point?
Thorir Hergeirsson: The Golden League marks the start to our preparations for the EURO 2012 which has a very high priority for us, and it is also our first appearance together after the London Olympics, so the tournament is very useful to us.

Eurohandball.com: You are missing some of your Olympic champions – Gøril Snorroeggen, Tonje Nøstvold, Marit Malm Frafjord and Kari Mette Johansen, for instance. What does that mean to the team?
Thorid Hergeirsson: It gives me the chance to see some other players in action. Some of the key players need rest and some are injured – some more seriously than others – but I hope to have them all back for the European Championship. However, I am sure that we have fine young players who can fill in the gaps, and this tournament gives me an opportunity to test those.

Eurohandball.com: Those players will be tested against pretty strong opponents. Does that not worry you?
Thorir Hergeirson: We always strive to play against the strongest teams in the world, if possible, and therefore matches against teams like Denmark, Russia and France are fine for us at this point. You may say that the Danes come with a relatively new and young team, but still their team consists of very fine handball players, so they will probably test us just as much as Russia and France will, so this gives our players the chance to show what they can do under the highest pressure.

Eurohandball.com: There is a always a lot of expectations in the Norwegian national team due to the team's fine performances in the past, and those expectations have probably not become more modest after your Olympic triumph. How do you and the players cope with that pressure?
Thorir Hergeirsson: We are used to facing those expectations, and we see them as a compliment to Norwegian women's handball. Of course, it can be a pressure, but we all have to be able to handle that, and this will be a good opportunity for the new players in the team to learn that. We know that there will also be expectations in Aarhus, but there is always a great atmosphere there, so we are really looking forward to play there again.