When Nikola Roganovic was ten years old, he sat in the stands in Malmö Arena and watched Niklas Ekberg score a penalty in the final seconds against Spain in April 2016 to secure a blue-yellow Olympic spot in Rio de Janeiro later that summer.
Now Roganovic stood there himself at the penalty line in the same arena in his championship debut in blue and yellow. It was a European Championship debut against the Netherlands in front of 11,800 spectators.
"Quite comfortable"
It was an incredibly powerful feeling. It was actually a bit funny that I got to take the penalties today, and I felt quite comfortable on the seven-meter line. It was incredibly fun, says HK Malmö's top scorer Roganovic, who will turn professional with Bundesliga team Gummersbach this summer.
The left wing was responsible for seven goals on seven shots - six of the goals were penalties.
I may not have had time to do an incredible amount of attacking play, but I think my defensive play was acceptable for me.
He acted like he'd never done anything other than play in European Championship debuts.
Before the match I had a few butterflies in my stomach, but once you play and step onto the pitch, everything goes away. I don't have time to get nervous.
He scored the first penalty goal after the Netherlands' playmaker Luc Steins brought down Roganovic. The Paris SG star received a match penalty and after that the Netherlands could not stand up to Sweden.
"I stole the ball there and ran on a counterattack, with Luc on my side. Then I thought he was very close to me. He probably tripped me," says Nikola Roganovic.
He is the son of handball player Zoran Roganovic, who came to Sweden in the early 2000s and became a top scorer in the elite league. He is now his son's coach at HK Malmö and was previously captain of his native Montenegro's national team.
20 interviews
The father was sitting in the stands in Malmö Arena, but had not yet spoken to his son 45 minutes after the final whistle.
"Not yet. I've probably done about 20 interviews," says the 19-year-old.
Are you as comfortable in interview situations as you are on the pitch?
"I'm probably a little better on the handball court, but that's part of the sport. You have to be able to handle that too, but I prefer playing handball," says Nikola Roganovic.
On Monday he will return to Malmö Arena - then Georgia awaits in the next group stage match.
