Sweden Handball: Main Round Qualification Secured

Monday’s game against Georgia ended 29–38 (15–20) in favor of blue and yellow. Sweden thus advances as one of two teams from Group E to the main round.
– We had good control of the match. A good day at work, summed up union captain Michael Apelgren after the final whistle.

Over 60 minutes there was no talk of where the two points would end up in Malmö Arena late on Monday night. Sweden was much better than Georgia and won quite fairly with 38–29 (20–15).

For long periods of time, Sweden found it easy to score against Georgia. Felix Claar controlled the blue-yellow attacking play with gusto and scored a total of six goals. In addition, he played his team-mates forward to clean finishing positions.

Mikael Appelgren guarded the Swedish cage for the majority of the match. Georgia were successful in their shooting initially, but gradually Appelgren found the right positioning.

Just like last Saturday, the Swedish players were well supported by the home crowd in Malmö Arena. Led by thousands of Swedes in the stands, they got lots of energy in both the first and second half.

A total of 13 different goalscorers were noted in Sweden. Among other things, the H43 Lund product Felix Montebovi who scored his first championship goals in his career with his three goals.

– Great fun with Felix today. It is a lovable and charming player, said the national team captain Michael Apelgren.

Also Jonathan Carlsbogård (two goals) and Max Darj (three goals) scored their first goals in this European Championship.

Sweden’s third and final match in the group stage is played on Wednesday evening against Croatia. Like Sweden, Croatia has a full pot after two matches. Thus, Wednesday’s battle will be a pure showdown for first place in the group. Whether Sweden gets some points to the main round in Malmö thus remains to be seen.

– Croatia have many dangerous players in their team. It will be a tough match for us on Wednesday, commented Apelgren.

Kick-off time in Wednesday’s match between Sweden and Croatia is at 8:30 p.m. Sweden’s matches in the main round will be played on Friday 23 January, Sunday 25 January, Tuesday 27 January and Wednesday 28 January. All matches are played in Malmö Arena.

In the main round, Sweden will be pitted against Slovenia, Iceland and Hungary, as well as the Faroe Islands or Switzerland.

GEORGIA–SWEDEN 29–38 (15–20)

Georgia: Giorgi Tskhovrebadze 11, Nikoloz Kalandadze 5, Irakli Kbilashvili 4, Khazein Rustamov 3, Giorgi Dikhaminjia 3, George Lapiashvili, Giorgi Areshidze, Miriani Gavashelishvili.
Sweden: Felix Claar 6, Nikola Roganovic 6, Albin Lagergren 4, Lukas Sandell 4, Max Darj 3, Felix Montebovi 3, Jonathan Carlsbogård 2, Sebastian Karlsson 2, Hampus Wanne 2, Oscar Bergendahl 2, Eric Johansson 2, Felix Möller, Jim Gottfridsson.
Goal development: 5 min: 2–3, 10 min: 5–6, 15 min: 8–7, 20 min: 11–13, 25 min: 12–15, 30 min: 15–20, 35 min: 16–23, 40 min: 21–25, 45 min: 22–29, 50 min: 26–33, 55 min: 27–34, 60 min: 29–38.
Deportations, Georgia: 2 x 2 min. Sweden: 3 x 2 min.
Judge: Marko Boricic & Dejan Markovic, Serbien
Public: (Malmö Arena).