Norway beat Austria to set up true ‘final’ against Spain

Norway and Spain are going to battle for first place in the inaugural Men’s EHF EURO Cup 2020 in a direct duel in Bodø, north of the Arctic Circle, on Saturday evening.

Norway defeated Austria 34:28 on Thursday night and joined Spain, which had beaten Sweden the previous day, on eight points.

EHF EURO Cup 2020

Austria vs Norway 28:34 (16:18)

Norway stuck to a 5-1 defence from the start. With Sander Sagosen or Gøran Johannesen pushing forward, this formation functioned very well - and so did the Norwegian attack.

Norway led 6:2 and had several more four-goal leads before Austria reduced the gap to a single goal a few times just before half-time.

But leading by two at the break, Norway became more dominating in the second half, mainly through continuous efficient defending and plenty of successful fast breaks.

However, the difference was still two at 21:19 before Norway decided the match by extending their lead to 11 goals (31:20 and 34:23). Austria scored the last five goals of the match but could of course not threaten Norway’s lead anymore.