Main round next, crowd favorite Roganovic & Georgia impress – here are Ola Selby’s three points after Sweden beat Georgia 38-29.
The main round next
Since Croatia did the job against the Netherlands earlier on Monday, a Swedish victory against Georgia was enough for a Swedish ticket to the main round to be booked. And of course it was a Swedish victory, and thus the first goal for Sweden is completed, that is, play in the main round and a chance to reach the semi-finals. Now it’s about defeating Croatia to get two points into the main round and thus have a great position to reach the semi-finals (if we are allowed to look that far ahead).
Nikola Roganovic – already a crowd favorite
It is usually Andreas Palicka and Jim Gottfridsson who get the loudest cheers at the player introductions (when the players drive in). But not anymore. In tonight’s match, it was the breakthrough man Nikola Roganovic who received the most love from the audience (although “Palle” and “Gotte” were of course also met with loud cheers).
Georgia impresses
It was a second straight loss for Georgia, but they have impressed during the European Championship. Above all, it is Giorgi Tskhovrebadze who excels. Damn what player it is, right-handed. But Georgia play a really intense and entertaining attacking game and deserve credit for that. At times, they created major problems for Sweden, to the point that Sweden was “forced” to switch around and test several different formations in central defence.
Give this team a couple more years and it could definitely be a team for the main round, especially in a World Cup.
