Norway vs Russia: Match for first place in the group

The Russian national team will play their 2nd match at the European Handball Championship against the Norwegians, and the outcome of the meeting will determine the fate of the 1st place in the group. There might not be a sensation, but the Russians will not give up so easily.

Semi-medalist Goran Johannessen misses his 2nd Top Rank Tournament, which has significantly reduced the medal chances of the Norwegian team. Before the World Cup, where Johannessen played, bookmakers put the Norwegians in 2nd place in their betting odds. Now the team is 5th. Also left out of the squad is German Flensburg's right midfielder Magnus Rod, who has scored more than 100 goals in a national team uniform. Nevertheless, the Scandinavian squad has several stars, and the main hopes are pinned on left back Sander Sagosen, who is on the top scorer list in almost every tournament. Unsurprisingly, the Norwegian national team often shoots from outside the box, and they are certain to be among the leaders at UEFA EURO 2022 in terms of their attempts from 9m.

Christian Berge's men have lost 3 of their four friendlies since the Olympics, but they have had no problems at the start of the European Championships. In the 1st round, the Norwegians crushed the tournament hosts, the Slovaks (35:25). In that game, the Norwegian national team mastered everything. They used both passes on the line and crosses, and from 9 meters, the team made 12 of 19 shots. At the same time, Sander Sagosen was not so visible and scored only three goals from the game. Kent Robin Tønnesen and Erik Toft contributed 4 and 5 goals, respectively.

Russia's performance at last year's World Cup was encouraging as they missed out narrowly to reach the quarterfinals. It will be difficult to do so again, although the federation's governing body has set the goal of reaching the top eight. The team will miss Nantes's left back Alexander Shkurinskiy and Sergey Ivanov, Dmitrii Kiselev, Viacheslav Kasatkin and Sergey Kudinov. The Russian team's head coach hopes Kiselev will return to action, at least for the main round.

In the meantime, we have to rely on Sergei Mark Kosorotov and Daniil Shishkaryov, who made it in the 1st round against the Lithuanians. In total, they scored 16 times, and Velimir Petkovic's charges were stronger with a score of 29:27. The lead stood at seven goals, but in the game's closing stages, the Russians allowed their opponents to restore the momentum and even narrow the gap. The play of goalkeeper Viktor Kireev deserves special mention, as he saved 11 of 32 shots, one of his saves being one of the best of the day.

The Norwegians didn't fully show their potential in Week 1, and Sander Sagosen could be a big problem for Russia. Because of the losses in the line-up, a lot depends on Kosorotov and Shishkaryov, and it is on them the rival will focus his attention. True, the Norwegian national team is weak in defense, and it is reasonable to expect a result-oriented handball. The following betting options look good:

• Total Over 58.5 goals for 1.95;
• Handicap 1 (+6.5) for 1.85;
• Individual Total 1 Over 26.5 goals for 2.12.