
World Championship 2025: A Call to Fans – Arrive Early, Avoid Crowds
January 19, 2025
Portugal defy record attendance to make it three out of three against Norway
January 19, 202511.345 spectators, including members of the Royal House of Norway, attended Norway’s last match in the preliminary round of the 2025 IHF Men’s World Championship in the Unity Arena in Baerum, where the co-hosts were downed by Portugal, 31:28, further complicating their situation at Croatia/Denmark/Norway 2025.
This match also set a record for attendance for any match of the Norway national team on their home court, beating the previous set at the final of the 1999 IHF Women’s World Championship, 11.200.
GROUP E
Norway vs Portugal 28:31 (13:14)
“We used our quota of mistakes for this competition,” said Sander Sagosen after Norway conceded a 26:29 loss in their opener against Brazil at the 2025 IHF Men’s World Championship.
The Scandinavian side were entering the competition with huge ambitions, but their erratic passages of play have been costly for the co-hosts, which faced a must-win match against Portugal. Lose and then Norway would start the main round with zero points, facing a mammoth task to secure a quarter-finals berth.
The Unity Arena in Baerum was always going to support the co-hosts and, therefore, the Scandinavian side had another incentive to play for, with the Royal Family, led by the H.R.H. The Crown Prince Haakon and The Crown Princess Mette-Marit also attending the match, in a packed house, a record number of spectators for home match involving the Norway men’s national team.
Yet the start was once again shaky, this time for both teams, as for seven minutes and 48 seconds, there was not a single goal scored between the 4th and the 12th minutes. By the time Portugal did come through via a penalty converted by Francisco Costa, Norway were up two goals, 4:2.
However, Norway continued to miss easy shots, including a fast break and a penalty, courtesy of Portugal’s goalkeeper, Gustavo Capdeville, as Portugal then used a 3:0 run to turn the match on its head and take an 8:6 lead, with the 19-year-old Costa shining bright, boasting a 100% shooting efficiency in the first half.
Both Costa and line player Luis Frade had four goals from four shots each, 57% of Portugal’s goals from the first half, with Norway constantly trying to play from behind. And when their usual plan of delivering balls to Sander Sagosen did not work out, they used fellow left back Simen Ulstad Lyse to lift the side back to life.
Lyse had five goals, with one shot measuring 106 km/h, to keep Norway in the match, but the seven turnovers made by Jonas Wille’s team hampered the co-hosts, which were one goal behind at the break, 13:14, as Portugal had a better shooting efficiency (70% to 57%) and more saves in the goalkeeping department (six as opposed to Norway’s four).
With their fate in the competition hanging by a thread, Norway came out from the break more determined, more clear-cut and much more focused, as Sagosen started to get into his groove. But it all started with a great defence, which narrowed Portugal’s margins and enabled two separate 3:0 runs from the co-hosts, which saw Norway wrestle back the lead.
In fact, with Sagosen contributing one goal to each run, Norway took control of the match, leading by three goals, 19:16, and it was finally looking good for Jonas Wille’s side. Only for Norway to somehow still manage to lose control and inviting back Portugal in the match.
Portugal’s top scorer, Martim Costa, was replaced by Salvador Salvador on the left back position, and the 23-year-old scored three out of Portugal’s four goals in only six minutes, which saw Paulo Pereira’s side take back the lead, 22:21, with only 12 minutes to go, as Norway were once again facing a mountain to climb.
It went worse before it got better for Norway, with Portugal shining bright through Salvador and Frade, which helped their side take a 26:24 lead, just before two turnovers cancelled all that progress and brought Norway back into the fold, 26:26, as backs Lyse and Tobias Grondahl had 14 goals between them at that point.
But no matter how much Portugal missed their chances in attack, Norway could not take advantage. Two one-on-one shots from Sagosen and left wing Sebastian Barthold were saved by Capdeville, who finished the match with 15 saves and a 41% saving efficiency, to lift Portugal to a 31:28 win.
With Francisco Costa, Frade and Salvador combining for 16 of Portugal’s 31 goals, Paulo Pereira’s side have won Group E and will start the main round with four points, while Norway are backed into a very tough position, needing to start the next phase on zero points and having matches against Spain and Sweden on their schedule.
hummel Player of the Match: Simen Ulstad Lyse (Norway)