Three years after pausing national team activities amid financial troubles, Norway has reached its best World Championship performance ever. The team finished second in its group and advanced to the quarterfinals against Latvia.
Patrick Thoresen, Norway's sports chief, credited former head coach Tobias Johansson for laying the groundwork during a difficult generational shift. Several veteran players including Jonas Holøs and Lesund departed or were injured, opening the way for younger talents such as Brandsegg-Nygård, Solberg, Noah Steen, Koblar and Mikkel Eriksen to step up.
