What: Swedish premiere in the Men's Handball European Championship.
Where: Malmö Arena.
When: Saturday at 8:30 p.m.
TV/radio: Viaplay/Viaplay Sport and P4 Radiosporten.
This applies: After the opening match against the Netherlands, Sweden faces Georgia on Monday and Croatia on Wednesday in Group E. The top two teams advance to the intermediate round in Malmö - points from head-to-head matches are taken into account - for matches against four teams from Groups D and F. The top two teams advance from the intermediate round to the semi-finals.
Squad status: Goalkeeper and team captain Andreas Palicka has the green light to play. He suffered an eye injury in the European Championship qualifier against Brazil when he was struck in the face. National coach Michael Apelgren announces that he has all 18 players available. Sweden can register 16 players for the opening match.
The opposition: The Netherlands made their European Championship debut in 2020. Their best finish so far is tenth place in 2022. The team has been coached by Swedish handball legend Staffan Olsson since the fall of 2022.
Meetings over the years: Sweden has won ten matches, drawn one and lost one match against the Netherlands. The teams met in the 2024 European Championship group stage – when Sweden took bronze – and it was a narrow Sweden 29–28 victory.
Shared championship: In addition to Malmö, Kristianstad also has a European Championship group, while the others are played in Oslo and Danish Herning (two groups each). Herning is in charge of the second group in the intermediate round as well as the semifinals and medal matches. The European Championship runs from January 15–February 1.
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.
National team captain: Michael Apelgren.
