+ The matches in the intermediate round
Tonight at 18.00, Sweden-Portugal.
Friday 24 January, at 18.00, Sweden-Brazil.
Sunday 26 January, at 20.30, Norway-Sweden.
+ TV/Radio
TV6, TV10 and Viaplay/Radiosporten.
+ The standings in the group
Portugal, 4 points
Sweden, 3
Spain, 3
Brazil, 2
Norway and Chile, 0
+ Can advance with two straight wins
The two best teams in the intermediate group advance to the quarterfinals. And with a Swedish victory in the first two matches, advancement can already be secured before the meeting with Norway, depending on the other group's results.
With this said, tonight's match against Portugal becomes important.
+ The surprise team that has surprised
Portugal enters the intermediate round after a shock victory over Norway (31–28). A victory that made Sweden's neighboring country, which is one of the three host nations, incredibly have a zero in the points column.
The Portuguese squad consists mainly of players from the domestic league, where they are constantly taking steps as a handball nation. One of the most prominent in this year's tournament is the 22-year-old backcourt player Martim Costa, who has so far scored 19 goals. A player whom Sweden's Sebastian Karlsson refers to as "a damn goal scorer".
+ Can meet the gold favorite
If Sweden advances, they will meet one of the two best teams from the intermediate round's group one. There, the gold favorite Denmark is in the driver's seat with six points out of six possible. The goal-scoring trio Mathias Gidsel, Simon Pytlick, and Emil Jakobsen have shown top form, and all opposition that has come their way has been crushed. Most recently, it was Germany. Germany and Italy are the closest challengers with four points each.
+ When the knockout matches are played
If Sweden advances, they will play the quarterfinals on 29 January, the semifinals on 31 January, and the final or bronze match on 2 February. All matches will be played in Oslo.
