The 13th of December marked the end of the semi-finals at the World Championship in Spain. In a tightly fought match Norway beat the Netherlands, Sweden beat Romania and France confidently defeated Russia, and the Final Round will start today.
In Group 2 of the Main Round, the identity of the two qualifying was decided in the final round, as the difference between the Norwegian, Swedish and Dutch national teams was only one point in the top three. In the afternoon match, Sweden, with Linn Blom, beat Romania by four goals, deciding that the Swedes would continue in the Quarter Finals, furthermore that the World Cup ended for the Romanians. Linn Blohm scored seven goals, Crina Pintea scored six goals.
In the derby of the group, the Norway - Netherlands match was decided in a big fight, with the defending world champion Dutch finally saying goodbye to the World Cup. In a game that was fierce to the end, the Netherlands led by five goals, but by half-time Norway had eliminated their deficit and were 17-17 on the scoreboard. The second half continued with big fight, with the Norwegians winning to 37-34 reaching the Quarter Finals as winner of the Round. Kari Brattset Dale scored 2, Stine Oftedal 1 and superb defender Silje Solberg also scored 1 in the clash.
It was decided earlier, in the first group of the Main Round, that France reached the Quarter Finals in the first place. Already at half-time, the French took a five-goal lead over Russia team, which the Minkos held on for the second 30 minutes, and finally won to 33–28. The centreback of our team helped her national team with one goal.
Other matches on Game Day 13:
Poland - Montenegro 33 - 28
Puerto Rico - Kazakhstan 30 - 27
Serbia - Slovenia 31 - 25
On Tuesday, December 14, the Quarter Final matches of the World Cup in Spain will continue. Starting at 5:30 p.m., Denmark, with Anne Mette Hansen, will meet Brazil, while Spain-Germany will play at 8:30 p.m.
Quarterfinal pairings:
Denmark - Brazil
Spain - Germany
Norway vs Russian team
France - Sweden
Photo source: IHF
