Match Analysis: France Vs. Norway

by Mário Cesar Navarro 25th IHF Women's World Championship, Handball Analysis

Who will succeed in the Netherlands? We are looking at a replay of the 23rd IHF Women’s World Championship 2017 in the grand final, but will France get the better of Norway again this time?

France’s current Olympic champions will be looking to combine their Olympic gold with the world title, while Norway will seek revenge for the 23rd IHF Women’s World Championship 2017 final.

Stay with another detailed analysis of a fantastic and exciting handball match.

In an exceptionally even first half until the 19th minute, four consecutive turnovers and a not-so-good period of Norwegian finishing saw France take a six-goal lead into the net in just seven minutes.

The strangest moment of the first half followed, where irregular exchanges, improper entries on the field, led to the first exclusions, with both teams attacking with two players less.

In the first half, the French team was 80% efficient in their shots, with five of the eight goals scored in an organized attack in the central zone of the pitch, together with the 33% efficiency of their goalkeeper.

On the other hand, Norway, who mortgaged the first half in seven terrible minutes, only managed to score six goals in sixteen organized attacking situations, and their fastbreak did not work in the best way, ending the first half with 40% effectiveness.

However, the break did Norway good, while France went from heaven to hell with a second half to forget.

The second half began, and Norway became more determined and disciplined. Defensively they were insurmountable, with their goalkeeper preventing the few French chances. On the other hand, France was unrecognizable, where after 6 minutes of the second half they had already lost the advantage of four goals, being already in disadvantage.

After 10 minutes of the second half, the French coach, with his time-outs already exhausted, tried everything but France couldn’t find a way back, and from the 47th minute onwards, the final was decided in favor of Norway.

At the end of the game, the Norwegian defense had an excellent performance, conceding only six goals in the second half, with their goalkeeper with an efficiency of 39%, besides an improvement in offensive terms at all levels, improving 7% their shooting efficiency and reducing the number of turnovers.

On the French side, disappointment was evident in their players as the second half unfolded, as nothing went right for France. As a result, the nine turnovers, the reduction in shooting efficiency from 80% to 55% meant that the French team only scored six goals in 30 minutes.

At the end of the match, Norway would win 22:29 against the French team, thus winning the 25th IHF Women’s World Championship and their fourth IHF Women’s World Championship.

Stay with some data about this great match.

Author Profile

Mário Cesar Navarro
Portuguese handball coach with over 15 years of experience coaching both male and female youth and senior teams. Passionate about game analysis and coaching.