U.S. Loses to Host Norway in Second Match at World Championship
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by Matt Collins
In front of a raucous crowd, the U.S. Men’s National Team was defeated by Norway with a final score of 33:17 in the second match of the 2025 IHF Men’s Handball World Championship.
The fans - the official count was 9,482 - were looking to see if the Nordic side could bounce back from a loss to Brazil in their opening match. On the other hand, the U.S. sought the first points of their World Championship campaign and surely would have to put in a strong shift to upset the Norwegians.
Off the opening whistle, it was slow going for both sides as it took nearly two and a half minutes for a goal to be scored, as a Magnus Abelvik Rod shot snuck past Pal Merkovszki. The Americans finally got on the board after eight minutes, when Ian Hueter found a cutting Sam Hoddersen with a slick behind-the-back pass, and the left-winger finished off the opportunity.
Pal Merkovszki supplied a phenomenal save as the match passed the 15th-minute mark, holding the scoreline to 5:1 in favor of Norway.
Simon Lyse, the Norwegian center-back, contributed four goals in the first half, coming from a left-to-right move, and firing 9m shots past the U.S. defense.
With 30 seconds to go in the opening half, Alex Chan Blanco scored a long-range effort to bring the score to 13:7, which is how the teams headed into the break.
Joey Stromberg, who plays his club handball in Lund, Sweden for Lugi HF, proved to be an offensive weapon in the second half as he provided three goals and four assists for the Americans. Norway started to pull away, finishing with a 16-goal advantage as the final whistle sounded.
The last meeting for the two sides was two years ago, in a preparation match for the 2023 IHF Men’s Handball World Championship. The Gjensidige Cup, held in January, saw Norway defeat the U.S. by a score of 43:26.
Thirteen players saw the floor for the U.S., with pivot Daniel Hunyadi making his senior national team debut at a major tournament. In his three and half minutes of action, he was able to draw a 2-minute suspension on Lyse.
“Our defense was solid for most of the game,” Stromberg said. “We need to work on our offense to get the ball moving a little more, as well as make a few more shots.”
An important match awaits the Americans as they take on Brazil tomorrow evening in Oslo (Sunday, Jan. 19 | 12:00pm EST | ESPN3), as a victory against the South American champions would clinch a Main Round berth.
“For the next game, we’ve got a Brazil team that’s looking better than expected so it’ll be a tough…last game in the first round,” Stromberg added.
It'll be a tough…last game in the first round.
