betprepare.com

Norway lost to the hosts, Brazil struggled against Japan

Norway lost to hosts, France, as expected, while Brazil struggled more than expected in their win against Japan

brazilhandball2015.com

With the wins over Poland and Russia, Norway basically secured a spot in the Round of 16, and today they have a chance to confirm that. After the mentioned wins, they had a game against the hosts, who have not forgotten last year's defeat at the Euro, and they had maximum approach from the start. 

France took over the initiative from the start, and they controlled the game, while the Norwegians were forced to try and keep up. And they did not have to fight only against the French but also keep an eye on the referees who helped the French (accidentally) with several strange decisions. Erevik started at the goal for Norway, but he had only one save (1/11) and Bergerud substituted him soon after. 

France were in the lead 16-12 at halftime, in the second half they were even in the lead by 7 at times, but Norway reduced to the acceptable 3 goal difference by the end and final 31-28. Bergerund also wasn't great at the goal (6/24), just like Erevik, and their starting lineup carried most of the weight again. Sagosen was great with 7/13 (2/3 in 7 meter throws after Bjornsen missed), wings Jondal and Bjornsen scored 11 combined, while Tonnesen and Myrhol added 4 each. Tonnesen, unlike previous games, got a lot of playing time (53 minutes) which proves his injury is in the past. 

- I think France were simply better today. I think we played good as well, we found solutions in the offense, but we were not great in defense, especially at times when we felt that France are slowing down. This is no drama, we will give our best to win the next game - Erevik analyzed the game. 

The Norwegians complained a lot about the referees, and we have to admit it was justified, because they looked lost at times. In the end there was a small scuffle after the 60th minute:

- It was a mixture of adrenaline, French arrogance and our disappointment with the defeat - said Myrhol. 

- I have to praise Sagosen and Tonnesen who played great roles. It's a shame we lost, but it is not the end of the world, we have to focus on the upcoming games and record wins to earn the 2nd place in the group - said Berge. 

After a great performance in their win over Poland, Brazil have not played as well against Japan, but they still won 27-24. 

They did a stupid thing from the start, against short Japanese, who struggled against France and Russia's 6-0 zone, they ran out in deep versions of 5-1 and 4-2 defenses, which suited the Japanese and they were even for the most of the first half. Brazil had a chance to decide the game at the end of the first half, when they were in the lead by 4 and had an attack, but Dos Santos cheaply threw the ball into the hands of the Japanese wing and Japanese reduced the score to 14-12 by halftime. 

They couldn't break the game in the second half and they had to play with their starting lineup almost the whole game, but they won in the end, much harder then expected. Toledo toredoed with 5/10 and Langaro with 8/13, Japan's short defense suited them, and Chiuffa was also great with 6/7, and he was their first 7 meter throw shooter (2/3). We should also mention Dos Santos on the goal who had a good performance with 14 saves (44%). 

- We knew it wouldn't be easy because Japan are completely different from us. We struggled to stop their running and we were tired from the game the day before - said Joao da Silva and added:

- We have advanced to the next round which was our main goal, but now we want to win at least one more game to start the second half of the tournament from the best possible position. 

Selector Nunes shared his opinion as well:

- We struggled but the most important thing is that we won 2 points that take us into the next round. Some players had some minor problems and we were forced to make rotations. We are pleased and continuing the tournament filled with optimism. 

Nunes mentioned some minor injury problems in his team, but he did not name any individual, nor did he talk about possible absences for the next game, so we will assume that they are going into the game against Norway complete.