25–32 against the Hungarians over the weekend was a slap in the face that stung. The loss significantly worsened the chances of reaching the European Championship semifinal. As group winners, Hungary takes two bonus points to the intermediate round, where Sweden stands at zero.
Turkey is an opponent that should be beaten ten times out of ten. The women's biggest win in the European Championship so far was, of course, a clear quality boost compared to the meeting with Hungary – but it happened against a significantly weaker opponent.
Tomas Axnér demanded improvement in two areas – in defensive play and in counter-attacks.
"Make the opponent look bad"
We should take every defense seriously and create scoring opportunities. We make the opponent look bad. We do the best we can in this match, he says to Viaplay.
We get a completely different counter-attack today. We're a bit sloppy, but the will is there anyway. We need to step up our level and set our defensive play for upcoming matches, says goalkeeper Johanna Bundsen to Viaplay.
With a 25–12 lead at halftime, Bundsen – who scored two goals before the break – rested in the second half and Jessica Ryde made her championship debut.
The second half was a mess against an increasingly weak Turkey. Nathalie Hagman scored eleven goals, Emma Lindqvist six, offensive tops in a Swedish team that spread goal-scoring to 14 players.
Passed 900 goals
For Hagman, it was a special match. She passed 900 goals in the national team and is now up to 904.
It doesn't mean that much. Hopefully, it's something I can be proud of when I hang up my shoes, she says.
France, Poland, Hungary, and Sweden are clear for group A in the intermediate round. Montenegro, Romania, or the Czech Republic will complete the quartet on Tuesday evening.
Before the meeting with Poland, Tomas Axnér says:
They play tough defense. Physical, heavy, we need to get tempo and pay off in counter-attacks.
The two top teams in the six-team groups advance to the semifinal, which, like the medal matches, will be played in Vienna, Austria.
The European Championship continues until December 15.
