The confrontation between Russia and Norway in the playoffs of the women's handball tournament at the Olympic Games has long become a classic. In Tokyo, the teams crossed the Olympic paths for the third time in 13 years. In Beijing, the rivals met in the final, and the Scandinavians confidently prevailed - 34:27. In London, the Norwegians again won gold, but missed the national team, for which the latter were to blame themselves, having stumbled in the quarterfinal match with South Korea.
But in Rio de Janeiro Evgeny Trefilov's charges took revenge in the semifinals.
The main time of that bright match ended in a draw - 31:31.
In the additional five-minute interval, the Russians turned out to be stronger thanks to the accurate throw of Ekaterina Ilyina from the penalty spot and a miss by Camilla Herrem - 38:37.
As a result, the team for the first time in history climbed to the highest step of the podium, and two-time Olympic champions were content with bronze.
Five years later, fate brought the teams together again in the semifinals of the Games, and the Norwegians were eager to take revenge, although since then they have managed to beat their principal rivals five times with one defeat and one draw.
Unsurprisingly, Thorir Hergeirsson's team was considered the clear favorite.
Among other things, the Scandinavians won all five matches in the group stage in Japan, and then broke the Hungarian resistance in the playoffs.
The Russians started the tournament very unsuccessfully: they parted with Brazil and lost to Sweden devastatingly.
But then they gained speed and won four victories in a row, including over Montenegro in the quarterfinals.
However, the face-to-face meeting immediately did not go according to the scenario of the Norwegian national team.
The first half turned out to be more than successful for Alexey Alekseev's charges.
They moved well and were in no way inferior to eminent rivals.
However, it was much more important that all attempts of the Norwegians to run away in fast breaks were stopped at the root, and the pressure in the central zone during a positional attack was reduced to shooting from the edges and half-flanks.
And in the attack, meanwhile, the main star of the Russians reigned - Anna Vyakhireva.
Actually, the match began with her accurate throw.
Even though the Rostov-Don player did not get too much free space, she acted extremely useful: collecting fouls on herself, assisting partners and scoring from the most difficult positions.
Daria Dmitrieva doubled the lead.
However, the Scandinavians quickly managed to recoup.
In addition, the already legendary goalkeeper Katrin Lunde was excellent in their roster.
The 41-year-old goalkeeper made eight saves in the first half alone and helped her teammates stay in the game.
Her counterpart Victoria Kalinina for the time being did not act so reliably and could not reflect at least one shot.
In the end, the coaching staff threw Anna Sedoykina into the battle, and this decision was timely.
With the score 5: 5, the team was suddenly let down by the experienced Anna Sen.
The Olympic champion earned a penalty for hitting Norah Mork in the face.
Having lost the leading defender, the Russians were at a loss for a while and allowed the Norwegians to come out ahead.
In addition, Stine Skogrand played on the right flank of the opponents, regularly breaking into the free zones and taking the initiative into her own hands.
Violations of the rules in the final phase of the attacks led to seven meters, for which the Norwegians were punished unmistakably.
Fortunately, Alekseev's team did not let the rivals come off in the long run.
In many ways, this became possible due to the two-minute deletions that rained down on the Norwegians.
The French referees did not spare the Scandinavians for their rudeness, as if returning the debt for Senj's red card.
Yulia Managarova and Ksenia Makeeva looked especially useful in this segment, who managed not only to stand as a wall in defense, but also to join the attacks in a timely manner.
Making sure that the Norwegians cannot come up with anything extraordinary and continue to attack according to memorized schemes, almost without using transmissions in the line, the Russians issued a spurt.
Not without luck in the form of bars and crossbars, but Sedoykina's five saves also hinted that there was no smell of diversity from Norway.
But the Olympic champions themselves scored uncommonly.
Either Ekaterina Ilyina shot in the center through her hands, then Managarova flew into the gap and pushed the defender, then Dmitrieva opened herself as a "pillar" in front of the goalkeeper's, then the miniature Vyakhireva twisted the monogram and found loopholes to enter the operational space.
It was the last one, with a siren about the end of the half after a false showing, sent the ball into the top nine and created a significant gap - 14:11.
However, Norway was not going to surrender.
At the beginning of the second half, the team reduced the gap to a minimum.
For the first time in the match, Lund managed to reflect the penalty in the performance of Ilyina, and the opponents finally came to the fore, Merk, who threw one ball after another.
However, as further developments showed, this was only a short-term phenomenon.
The Russians quickly came to their senses and again began to act reliably on the defensive.
They looked so cool that no one even remembered Sen's absence.
Hergeirsson's team was practically not allowed to shoot at goal, and if they were allowed to do so, then from extremely uncomfortable positions.
And it was not easy for Sedoikin, who caught the courage, to break through.
When it seemed that the opponents were able to return to the game, she made an important save every time.
In total, Anna had 11 rescues to her credit.
Ksenia Makeeva played superbly in the line, almost completely covering Stine Oftedal.
As a result, she scored only two goals and threw on goal only four times.
Ksenia also showed herself great in the attack.
Closer to the equator of the second half, she scored several accurate shots at once, and the Russian national team issued a five-point spurt and broke away.
Had Bobrovnikov scored in the next attack after the interception of Polina Kuznetsova, and the Scandinavians would have had to puzzle over how to win back a seven-goal handicap.
But the Norwegians blocked Vladlena's shot and almost immediately outlined the format of the comeback: a quick attack and a tough defense.
And even though at the gates of the Russians practically only Mork was puffed, in order to regain the intrigue, that was enough: Nora's three balls in 122 seconds turned the gap into a working one - 23:20.
But Kuznetsova had her own plans for the semi-final endgame.
As soon as the Norwegians relaxed, believing that they had already taken the initiative to their own hands, she responded with a doublet, first scoring in a fast break, and then throwing from a deadly position in the center.
The Norwegians were not embarrassed by this, they continued to bend their line, especially since, due to fatigue, the Russians did not have time to cover the batter.
When the difference reached two goals again, Vyakhireva again came to the fore.
She, like Lionel Messi, twice in a row caught the opponent's goalkeeper by surprise when it seemed that the ball would certainly not be in goal.
And when the thought arose that the match could end - 27:24, Vladlena Bobrovnikova unjustifiably fouls roughly 12 meters from the goal and gave the Norwegians a chance to save.
They almost used it.
Henny Reistad and Sanna Solberg Isaksen, adjusted for the loss of Managarova, scored two goals and reduced the gap to a minimum.
A little over a minute remained to play.
Fortunately, Alekseev's wards did not flinch and, from experience, calmly settled on the other side.
And shortly before the final siren, Veronica Christiansen was put on nerves.
It was her two-minute removal that put an end to the confrontation - 27:26.
Thus, the Russian women's handball team beat Norway for the second time in a row in the semifinals of the Olympic Games and will again fight for gold with France.