What: Sweden - Croatia, in the Men's European Handball Championship.
Where: Malmö Arena.
When: Wednesday at 8:30 p.m.
TV/radio: Viaplay/Viaplay Sport and P4 Radiosporten.
What’s at stake: Group victory and the best possible conditions in the intermediate round. Both Sweden and Croatia are ready to advance after two straight wins each, but only the winner will take two points to the next phase of the tournament. In the event of a draw, the teams will each take one point. The intermediate round will also be played in Malmö Arena.
The opposition: Croatia reached the World Cup final in Norway last year, but couldn't stop Denmark from winning a fourth consecutive World Cup gold medal. The Croats won the World Cup in 2003 and the Olympics in both 1996 and 2004, but have never won the European Championship. There have been three European Championship finals - most recently in 2020, when Spain prevailed in Stockholm.
Previous meetings: In the Olympic group stage in Paris in the summer of 2024, Sweden turned a must-win match into a big win against Croatia (38-27). The Croats missed the quarter-finals - Sweden later went out in the quarter-finals against Denmark (31-32). In terms of historical head-to-head matches, Sweden has a narrow advantage with 16 wins. Croatia has won 14 matches and one match has ended in a draw.
Sweden's squad:
Goalkeepers: Andreas Palicka, Mikael Appelgren, Fabian Norsten.
Left wing: Hampus Wanne, Felix Montebovi.
Pivots (line players): Max Darj, Oscar Bergendahl, Felix Möller.
Right wing: Daniel Pettersson, Sebastian Karlsson.
Left back: Jonathan Carlsbogård, Eric Johansson, Nikola Roganovic.
Centre back: Felix Claar, Jim Gottfridsson, Axel Månsson.
Right back: Albin Lagergren, Lukas Sandell.
Head coach: Michael Apelgren.
