We now have the grand final, where one of the host nations, Germany, has reached it somewhat unexpectedly. Unexpected because it wasn’t what most people anticipated, although their level of performance has fully justified their place here. The German team have played a great tournament — a generation of players that has reached its maturity as a team at the World Championship they are hosting (even though the final is played in Rotterdam).
It’s true that Germany have had relatively favorable matchups: only Spain, who showed a very low level, Brazil, which is still a second-tier national team, and that allowed them to reach the semifinals, where they deservedly defeated France. The key to this team is undoubtedly their strong defense — a team that defends extremely well, backed by a solid goalkeeper and a home crowd that has carried them forward.
That said, I believe the silver medal is the maximum they will achieve. Beating Norway looks almost impossible at this moment. The Norwegians have steamrolled every opponent they’ve faced, and in the semifinals they defeated the other host nation, the Netherlands, 25–35, dominating the match from the very beginning. They went into halftime with a four-goal lead, and right at the start of the second half they produced a 5–1 run. The Netherlands then had some very good minutes and matched Norway in the second-half scoring, but honestly, at no point did they truly threaten Norway’s victory.
Reistad is simply the best player in the world. When she decides to, she puts the team on her shoulders — today she scored four of Norway’s first five goals, her way of telling her teammates, “Don’t worry, I’m here.” Mørk, Ingstad, Lunde… they are all top-level players. The team doesn’t suffer from substitutions, which allows them to keep scoring for the full 60 minutes.
I have no doubts that Norway will win the final; anything else would be an incredible surprise. I backed them to win the tournament during the group stage and I’m not going to change my mind now. As for the handicap, I also believe they will cover it — today they beat the Netherlands by 10 goals, and I think Germany are at a similar level.
| GAMEPICK |
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