When Norway took a six-goal lead into half-time, they already had victory in sight, and the result was clear when the defending title holders hit a 10-goal advantage 13 minutes into the second period.
GROUP II
Netherlands vs Norway 21:31 (9:15)
- the Netherlands kept pace for the first six minutes, when the score board showed level for the last time, 3:3; after that, Norway did not allow their opponents to score for 10 minutes and created a decisive difference, 8:3
- Yara ten Holte has been the usual first choice for the Netherlands, playing all games except the preliminary round encounter against Ukraine, but the Dutch started with Rinka Duijndam in goal, and she had a strong impact early on with a save rate of 38 per cent at the 10-minute mark
- however, just 10 minutes in, it was clear Norway were finding far more chances to shoot than the Netherlands, as they had made 11 attempts versus six for the Netherlands; by the 50th minute, they counted 43 shots on goal to 31 for the Dutch
- Norway goalkeeper Katrine Lunde stopped seven shots at a rate of 44 per cent in the first period, and finished with a total of 14 at 41 per cent, earning the Grundfos Player of the Match award
- the Netherlands managed a short-lived comeback late in the first half, reducing the gap to two, 7:9, but it became a one-sided clash from there, with Norway taking a clear lead into half-time and reaching a 10-goal difference in the 43rd minute, 22:12
Lunde and Herrem top caps list and keep climbing
On the ranking of all-time caps at the Women’s EHF EURO, no player comes close to Lunde. The Norway keeper entered the 2024 edition — her ninth EHF EURO — with 60 matches played, and reached 63 with the game against the Netherlands.
The next player still active in the competition is her teammate Camilla Herrem, who has climbed into second position on the list during the EHF EURO 2024, passing fellow Norwegians Karoline Dyhre Breivang and Stine Oftedal as well as former France captain Siraba Dembélé Pavlovic. For Herrem, the game against the Netherlands was her 56th, and she also passed the 150-goal mark at EHF EURO events during the game.
Across both the Men’s and Women’s EHF EURO, Lunde is second on the all-time appearances, coming in behind French legend Nikola Karabatic, who retired after the Paris 2024 Olympics. The two lead the individual record for title wins in handball, with Lunde counting 18 across the World Championship, EHF EURO, Olympic Games and EHF Champions League, including six at the EHF EURO. Karabatic ended his career with 14 trophies at the four major championships.
We have to be much more consistent. I think we showed a really good thing sometimes in attack, and also in defence, but it goes too much up and down this game. But nothing is lost, we can learn a lot from this game we have to take with us.
The key as always in such matches is goalkeeper and defence. We play pretty good defence, and Katrine (Lunde) is excellent. In attack it’s more variable. We are building new team, new relations, and we are not so stable in the attack. That’s why we have to be strong in defence and goalkeepers, and I think we got some final counterattacks. And many players played this match, so it’s good for us.
