Quotes from the quarter-final, semi-final and 9-16 placement day of Kazan 2018.
Norway player Marielle MARTINSEN (NOR)
On her point in the last seconds of the first period which put her side 1:0 up:
I was so nervous…I don’t know what to say, I was so happy when it went into the goal. At the break we thought about that [winning 2:0], we just calmed down and had fun and thought we could have this [victory].
On making the final:
I don’t have words to describe it. It’s my first world championships. It’s really big. It means a lot for beach handball in Norway, Brazil are so big.
On if she thought she would make the final in her first championship:
It was a dream, but I didn’t think we were going to be beat Brazil. My teammates are amazing.
Coach Eskil Berg ANDREASSEN (NOR):
I have been a coach for 15 years and it was the first time we have beaten Brazil.
Norway player Maren AARDAHL (NOR)
On her side beating
Brazil 2:0 in their semi-final after Marielle Martinsen had scored a
last-second single point to win the first set:
Her point was super important, we have never beaten Brazil
before and we thought just to get a shootout - we were really excited about
that. We just said in the break that at least we have the shootout, let’s push it. Let’s push it as Brazil are Brazil [and they always come back].
We were just saying let’s not
hold anything back in the second set and just go for it.
On scoring nine points
in the victory:
It’s the
best feeling ever to score, it’s such
a relief. I haven’t had the best championship personally, so to just have so
many goals and points in this important game is major.
On making the final:
Now, I’m [feeling]
on top [of the world]. It’s a very
important victory for us, we can let down our shoulders a bit, we’ve got a medal now and that was our goal
for this championship and all the other championships – we always reach for the medal and now we’ve got it.
On finishing the day today
with a guaranteed medal, a first victory over Brazil and a place in the 2019
ANOC World Beach Games in San Diego, USA next year (the top five teams at Kazan
2018):
It’s the
best feeling ever and it sounds amazing. We are preparing for the future as
well. I’m a little bit out of myself
now, I don’t know what I am saying – I am super happy.
Brazil coach Marcio MAGLIANO (BRA)
On beating Paraguay in their quarter-final:
They are a team who we are very familiar with, we just played them in the Pan-American championship and I have been there, helped them and taught them some things, we know they play very much like Brazil, so it’s our South American school of playing.
Every final – quarter, semi and final is a final for us, we take each game at a time, but the important thing is that we won 2:0. Today it was kill or be killed and we won that’s more important, they were concentrated enough to win, we have never been before a score so it was a victory that keeps everyone calm, we didn’t lose ‘our’ game.
On their semi-final against Norway:
Norway, in my opinion, is our biggest rival in the world so we are happy to face them again, it’s going to be a great spectacle.
Norway coach Eskil Berg ANDREASSEN (NOR)
On turning around a first set loss into a 2:1 (16:17) (24:9) [6:4 SO] victory against Poland in their quarter-final after a shootout:
I was impressed in the second period because we decided everything in that period, it was not just tactical, we were really good in defence and the goalkeeper was also better in the second half and then the shootout anything can happen.
I wasn’t happy with the first period because we were 4:0 and we should have played with more self-confidence. We do some technical faults which we shouldn’t do – they were simple technical faults and pass faults. I was not satisfied with the first set.
I think they should have gone with more speed, all the time, then it will be easier to come a good position for chances.
On Brazil coach Marico MAGLIANO calling Norway their biggest rivals:
We played against them yesterday, we lost the first set by one point and the second by one, I think we are closer to Brazil now then for some years. To be world champions you have to beat Brazil and it’s OK to have them in the semi-final and I think we have respect from them after the result yesterday.
On how long he will let his players celebrate before their semi-final later today:
We will be in the hotel in half-an-hour and we will relax and eat and prepare for the semi-final, a quarter-final if you lose it’s a fiasco and if you win you’re fighting for a medal and qualifying for the World Beach Games next year which really inspired us. That pressure is off now, and we can just play now, plus the pressure is off the coach now too.
Brazil player Gil PIRES (BRA)
On beating Spain in the quarter-finals 2:1 (25:18) (22:21) [14:16 SO]:
They play ‘real’ beach handball, combined with our match, every time matches are decided by small margins. We had some problems here in Brazil but we have been taking it step by step, but today we found ‘our’ game in the first set and the second set we had some little problems but in the end we did it.
On playing Sweden in the semi-finals:
We played against them in the preliminary round and lost 2:1 - they were a really hard team because they play a different style of game but we learnt a lot when we lost to them and now we’re ready to win.
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