Castellon (VG) (Netherlands-Norway 34-37) The Olympic semi-finals ended in tears and despair for Henny Rystad (22). And now she wants revenge in the World Cup quarter-final against Russia on Wednesday.
– We are eager for revenge and are fully prepared to give everything against Russia, Reistad tells VG. She was in pain after four shots and a poor match when Norway lost on August 6th 26-27 to the Russians.
“We’re incredibly eager for revenge,” Veronica Christiansen relays after losing two games to the girls’ Olympic semi-finals from the biggest country in the world.
On Monday night, Norway booked a place in the quarter-finals after turning in the group final against the Netherlands, from under 5-11, to a 37-34 win. The center of that was Henny Ristad. The 22-year-old started off the bench, but came on after Norway’s poor start and took a nine-goal lead en route to winning the set.
Rystad was delighted after presenting perhaps his best match in the Norwegian Championship.
– It means a lot to me. He does the same for others. Rystad, who has scored 16 goals in his first five World Cup matches, says it was hard to get a good feel in the matches we played against a slightly worse opponent.
There were some good matches in tournaments before, but it wasn’t, she said.
– I got the right distance from the defense and got an overview. Then it’s duels and we know we’re duels. When they were also shot, many chambers opened, as the “box opener” believes in Norway after a terrible start after the Battle of Destiny.
The FIFA World Cup quarter-finals kicked off in Granollers, north of Barcelona, against Denmark, Brazil, Spain and Germany on Tuesday. Then Norway, Russia, France and Sweden play the next day.
– It’s a slightly different Russian team, but a very good one. They have a group of good players and there are a lot of players to prepare for. They take turns a lot and play handball very quickly, says Nora Mork after eight goals against the Netherlands.
The Russian Handball Federation, as it is referred to in the World Cup, lost 33-28 to Olympic winner France on Monday. The Russians also played a draw with Slovenia in the World Cup. The team misses Anna Vjakhireva and many of her biggest stars from the silver team at the Olympics.
They lost 10 of their 14 players. Ljudmila Bodnijeva – two World Cup gold medalist as a player – took the position of national team manager. Her team dominated by CSKA Moscow got a boost when they beat Norway in Bergen ahead of the World Cup.
– They were good in the Intersport Cup and they were good here. It will be a tough match. But we will enjoy this victory and then focus on Russia. We’re looking forward to it, says Henny Rystad.
In addition to the Olympics, Russia also beat Norway in the 2019 World Cup. Norway has not defeated the Russians since the World Cup quarter-final four years ago. A runaway 34-17 win in Magdeburg is one of the best girls’ handball matches ever.
– Nora Mork says that facing Russia in other tournaments is a little different from the Olympic Games, because then it is a completely different team.
Camila Herim, her top scorer with seven goals, is following her against the Netherlands.
Russia is a great team. They have strong shooters and players – a little bit of everything really. I think they are getting better and better, but we are ready. Now we will win every match. We will only give gas ban, Herrem says, without a doubt.
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