Norway win European Women's Handball Championship

Baku, December 21, AZERTAC

Norway narrowly defeated defending champions France by two goals to claim the European Women's Handball Championship title for an eighth time.

The Norwegians led the contest for the majority of the match but neither side established a clear lead and with four minutes to go the contest in Herning was poised at 20 goals apiece.

The tournament's top scorer Nora Mørk scored the go-ahead goal with three and a half minutes to go before a further effort from Solberg-Isaksen extended Norway's lead and gave them a 22-20 win.

France opened a two-goal advantage twice early on but four and five goal unanswered spells from Norway helped them into an interval lead at 14-10.

Pauletta Foppa, the youngest player on the court, was the final’s top scorer, with five goals for the French, who took the lead 19-18 with seven minutes left to play.

After Norway twice levelled they took the lead through Mørk before closing the match out, denying France the chance to become the third team to retain the title they won in 2018.