– A loss for the team – VG

Norway and Denmark share the championship which is played from 3 – 20 December. The Norwegian girls are scheduled to play their matches in Trondheim.

National team captain Stine Bredal Oftedal believes the team loses an important x-factor with pregnant Lunde out.

– Both as a person and a player, the lack of Katrine is a loss for the team. There is no doubt about that. The respect she has both among teammates and opponents – and her x-factor, says Oftedal.

– But it’s incredibly nice that she’s pregnant. It trumps everything.

The captain has great faith in those who will guard the goal.

– We have two other good goalkeepers. I am convinced that Silje (Solberg) will do well. Hunog Emily (Stang Sando) complement each other, says Oftedal happy.

National team manager Thorir Hergeirsson was informed by Katrine Lunde about the pregnancy last week.

– It is a great joy for her and her family. It is the biggest thing for a lot of people, so it’s just to enjoy, says Hergeirsson to VG.

Lunde will soon be a mother of two.

– Katrine would clearly have been involved if it had not been like that, says Hergeirsson.

– Is Norway weakened without Lunde in goal?

– Yes, Katrine is one of the world’s best goalkeepers. But we have three other goalkeepers who have done good things. We know what Silje (Solberg) stands for, Emily (Stang Sando) has played well and Rikke (Granlund) was good in the Champions League match. Now the goalkeeper trio will be part of realizing the dream of being at the top of the World Cup, the national team coach answers.

During the World Cup last year, several key players were out with injuries – including Nora Mørk, Veronica Kristiansen and Katrine Lunde.

This year, most are back and in the squad – but Vipers goalkeeper Lunde announced on Tuesday that she is pregnant and thus will not join:

– Tittei, she writes on her Instagram profile together with an ultrasound image.

It is the handball goalkeeper’s other children who are on their way. She already has a daughter, Atina (5), with Serbian football coach Nikola Trajkovic.

Lunde returned this summer after a serious knee injury. She suffered it in May last year.

– It has been a tough battle to be among the 16 selected. But we have got a good mix of an experienced squad and young courage. We have a team that is hungry for precious metal the last Sunday before Christmas. On the way there, we will work really hard every single day, and we want to entertain, excite and create excitement in the thousands of homes as we usually do in December, says national team manager Thorir Hergeirsson about the withdrawal in a statement on the handball association’s website.

It is still uncertainty about how the championship will be conducted. Handball president Kåre Geir Lio told VG on Monday that a final answer will come on Friday this week at the earliest.

The previous European Championship ended with a disappointing fifth place for Norway. Last year it was fourth place during the World Cup in Japan and in 2017 Norway took World Cup silver after losing to France in the final. The last championship gold came during the European Championships in 2016.

The national team captain believes that Norway will strike back violently now.

– There is a lot of quality in the team. It is a mixture of experience and new and hungry. I experience that we are an extremely hungry gang now. Now it’s our turn again. But it is a lot of work if it is to go, Oftedal says about the gold job.

Due to the corona pandemic, the team has made plans to avoid barracks disease.

– If it stays in Norway, we think of a social room where we can drink coffee, play something and chat. We need to make more out of a zone or a room. We live a lot on top of each other anyway, but now we lose the opportunity to go out. We have to deal with that. We fix that, says Oftedal.

And it might get too close.

– Inside the team, there is a good ceiling height, we take things quickly if something comes up. With this gang, things are going well. Camilla (Herrem) and I in the captain team need a little extra responsibility, says Oftedal.