Slovenia shock Norway to take maximum points to main round

However, once Slovenia took over the lead in the 46th minute, Uros Zorman’s squad grew in confidence and with Urban Lesjak's fantastic saves in the final minutes, Slovenia defied the odds and stopped the 2020 bronze medallists from taking the group win.

Norway progress to the main round after Poland’s earlier victory over the Faroe Islands, but take zero points with them.

Norway vs Slovenia 27:28 (17:17)

• Aleks Vlah was one of Slovenia's best players as the centre back scored seven goals for his side and added six assists
• it was an extremely physical match, with five two-minute suspensions in the first half alone and an additional seven in the second half
• Norway held a three-goal lead at one point in the opening 30 minutes, but Slovenia equalised before the break
• Christian O'Sullivan, Harald Reinkind and Sander Sagosen equaled Bjarte Myrhol's record of 37 Men’s EHF EURO matches for Norway and now they have the chance to better Myrhol's record in the main round
• the brilliant goalkeeper, Urban Lesjak, had a night to remember as the Slovenian made nine saves (42 per cent) and was chosen as the Player of the Match, sponsored by Grundfos, by the fans
• Norway's leaky defence continues to be an issue for Jonas Wille's squad; the Norwegian goalkeepers only had nine saves between them against Slovenia

Vlah's magic and Lesjak's second-half cameo inspire Slovenia

The phenomenal playmaker Aleks Vlah pulled all the strings for Slovenia, but he needed a bit of help to fully get the job done.

Goalkeeper Urban Lesjak produced a few moments of magic which changed the course of the game in Slovenia's favour. With each and every passing game, a new player steps in at the clutch moments and coach Uros Zorman must be happy with what he saw in the preliminary round.