Handball: France wins World Cup title

France’s handball players have dethroned Norway and won the World Cup title. The Olympic runner-up defeated the Norwegian defending champion in the final of Hamburg with 23:21 (11:10) and won the coveted trophy for the second time after 2003. The Netherlands won the bronze medal with a 24:21 (14:8) against Sweden.

In front of 11,261 spectators in the sold-out Barclaycard Arena, France finished Norway’s exceptional position in women’s handball. In addition to the three World Cup titles 1999,2011 and 2015, the North Europeans had won six of the last seven European Championships.

Germany had lost in their own country in the last 16 against Denmark (17:21).