It was no easy start for Apelgren in his new job, but Glenn Solberg's successor could not have seen in his worst nightmares what unfolded in French Orleans.
Already after 12.30 – with a French lead of 10–1 – he took his second timeout.
Did it get better?
Hardly. After 21 minutes of play, France led with a crushing 17–4.
Nothing worked, it leaked backwards and the attacking game was equally poor. Star goalkeeper Andreas Palicka had a nightmare evening and was replaced in the second half by Tobias Thulin.
Now the EHF Euro Cup is not the World Championship, there are still over two months left until that tournament, but there is some work to be done.
Sweden improved the numbers and were down 21–11 at halftime, and tightened up in the second half, which was won by four goals.
One must still be glad that it ended decently in the end, says Apelgren.
On Sunday, there will be a chance for revenge when the national team plays on in the tournament against Denmark in Linköping.
Apelgren had received several rejections due to injuries, and left-hander Lukas Nilsson made a comeback after several years outside the national team. The Ålborg player scored two goals.
In addition, Lucas Pellas was forced to leave injured towards the end of the match. He became the top Swedish goal scorer with six goals.
