After a 31-25 victory over Germany in a cauldron in Hamburg is the Norwegian håndboldlandshold ready for its second WORLD cup final in a row.
And for the norwegians it is a regular drømmefinale, waiting in Herning on Sunday.
– Yes, it is the absolute. Now we can get a rematch. It was nice to beat the germans in Germany, and it will be even better to beat the danes in Denmark in a WORLD cup final, says bagspilleren Espen Lie Hansen.
The two countries also met in the preliminary round, which Denmark won 30-26 after a big lead along the way.
the Norwegians are convinced that they have learned something of the dip, and that they can create a much better match on Sunday.
– I think It’s intended, says playmakeren Gøran Johannessen, who until last summer was playing klubhåndbold in GOG.
– Against Germany, we showed that we have a team that stands together, and we hit a nice level in our defending.
Photo: Ritzau Scanpix
– If we can do the same against Denmark and stopped Mikkel Hansen and Rasmus Lauge, then we have good opportunities, he says.
Johannessen was on the Norwegian team, who two years ago lost the WORLD cup final to France. Now it is Norway’s turn to step up on verdenshåndboldens top step, he believes.
– Now, I’ll just win the gold. We have not won the gold in the past. We have been in a finale. There, we got silver, and we agreed that next time we should take the gold. So simple is it, he says.
He is aware, however, that there awaits a difficult task against Denmark. Johannessen reached to see half of Denmark’s match against France in the tv, before there was the departure to the hall.
He is hardly impressed by what the danes accomplished.
– I saw the first half, and it was crazy. Therefore, completely insane. But I hope and believe, that they can’t hit that level two times in a row, for it is, as some of the wildest I’ve seen in a long, long time, says Gøran Johannessen.
the WORLD cup final between Denmark and Norway will be played at 17.30 on the Sunday.