Group 1: Netherlands vs. Norway 22:30 (9:13) Sunday’s match between the Netherlands and Norway got off to a messy start. Both teams were clearly ready for a tough match, and the first fifteen minutes were heavy with warnings, turnovers, and penalties, mainly against a high-strung Netherlands side. After ten minutes Norway had settled and began to pull away, leading 4:7 by the 15th minute. The first-half finished with Norway ahead by four goals. The number of warnings, technical faults and penalties indicated nerves were still running high at this point, particularly on the Netherlands side – three of Norway’s goals in the first half came from penalties. The Netherlands put up a strong fight against their visiting opponent, but the second half saw Norway continue with the lead they had created in the first 30 minutes. Midway through the second half the visitors were up by five (15:20), and went on to finish the match with their second convincing win of the qualification phase. The top scorers for the match were Fabian Van Olphen from the Netherlands with five goals, and Magnus Joendal and Kristian Björnsen from Norway with six each. Sunday’s defeat against Norway means the Netherlands have now recorded losses against two of their group opponents (Croatia won Thursday’s qualifier 35:24). Netherlands will need to win their second-leg match against at least one of these teams if they hope to place in the top two of the table – but Croatia and Norway are wasting no time in showing they are the dominant sides in Group 1.