When the intermediate round in Malmö was to be decided on Wednesday, Sweden needed help from either Slovenia or Hungary.
Slovenia was never even close against Iceland, but Hungary pressed Croatia until the final seconds in a hard-fought thriller in Malmö.
A heroic and determined Hungary - leading by as many as four goals - looked to tie the game at 26–26 in the final minute, but the goal was ruled out for an offensive foul. Instead, Croatia were able to score 27–25 and secure their place in the semi-finals alongside Iceland.
"I felt that we had built something that was good enough to go much further in the tournament," Michael Apelgren told Viaplay.
Dream mode disappeared
The failure to win a medal is a fiasco, not least considering the dream position Sweden squandered with two very poor European Championship performances.
Everything was set for Sweden, who started with four straight victories.
But after 27–35 against Iceland and 32–32 against Hungary - two matches in which Sweden entered as clear favorites - the dream situation had turned into a nightmare.
Without help from Slovenia or Hungary, Sweden was eliminated as soon as the team began warming up for the match against Switzerland.
The defense has leaked
When Sweden finished 14th in the World Cup a year ago, there were several obvious explanations for the debacle. Michael Apelgren had been rushed into the team and had no time to make his mark. Key players Max Darj, Oscar Bergendahl and Felix Claar were missing due to injuries.
Now it is harder to find excuses for Sweden not fighting for medals in Herning, Denmark.
Apelgren and the players have had a year to build a "new" national team. Sweden has played at home and had a good draw.
Sweden was particularly convincing in their victory against last year's World Cup runner-up Croatia a week ago, but since then the game has increasingly been on crutches. The defense has leaked goals - 98 in three matches in the intermediate round - while the attack has often become one-dimensional and too dependent on the individual brilliance of Felix Claar.
Sweden finishes third in the group in the intermediate round, which is at least enough to qualify for the World Cup in Germany next year.
The blue-and-yellow national team has a lot to work on until then.
Denmark, Germany, Croatia and Iceland will compete for the European Championship medals this weekend.
Carl Goransson/TT
Facts: Sweden's latest championship
TT
This national team generation, with players like Jim Gottfridsson and Andreas Palicka at its core, won their first national team medal at the 2018 European Championships. This is how the championships have gone since then.
European Championships 2018: Silver.
World Cup 2019: Fifth.
Euro 2020: Seventh.
World Cup 2021: Silver.
Olympics 2021: Quarterfinals.
Euro 2022: Gold.
World Cup 2023: Fourth.
Euro 2024: Bronze.
Olympics 2024: Quarterfinals.
World Cup 2025: 14th.
Euro 2026: Fifth or sixth.
