When Sweden and Iceland met in the second round of the 2023 World Cup in Gothenburg, a powerful soundscape was created in Scandinavium. There were around 3,000 Icelanders in the stands.
"It's one of the coolest international matches we've ever played. There was a party in the whole city, there was yellow and a fantastic atmosphere. Iceland invited people to dance and we played a good international match. They're fun to play against," says midfielder Jim Gottfridsson.
The President in the stands
Now there could be a repeat of that at the European Championship intermediate round in Malmö. Iceland is ready to advance after two straight wins and will compete with Hungary for first place in Group F on Tuesday.
Iceland is one of the biggest fan bases at the European Championship - apart from the host countries Sweden, Denmark and Norway. Around 4,000 Icelanders have bought tickets for the group stage in Kristianstad.
In the stands during the opening match against Italy were both Iceland's President Halla Tómasdóttir and the country's Foreign Minister Thorgerdur Katrin Gunnarsdottir, who is the mother of national team star Gísli Kristjánsson.
"Of course, we would be happy to welcome the Icelandic fans here in the intermediate round. It would also be awesome if the Faroe Islands could rock Oslo," says Tobias Frejfors, CEO of the Swedish European Championship organiser.
That's exactly what the Faroe Islands are about to do. On Sunday, the Faroese took their first ever European Championship victory with a 37–24 win against Montenegro (zero points). After a draw in the opening match against Switzerland (one point), the Faroe Islands have three points and will face Slovenia (four) on Tuesday. The top two in the group advance.
“All audience teams”
Over 6,500 Faroese people have purchased tickets for the three group stage matches in the Oslo suburb of Bærum. That's from an island with just under 55,000 inhabitants.
For the Swedish European Championship organizer, it would be a financial jackpot if the Faroese were also allowed to travel to Malmö to support their team.
"It is important to get all the audience members on board. Both Iceland and the Faroe Islands are two nations that have a large audience with them," says Frejfors.
Sweden's opener against the Netherlands on Saturday was sold out - 11,800 spectators in Malmö Arena.
By lunchtime on Sunday, around 7,500 tickets had been sold for Sunday's match against Georgia, and around 8,500 tickets had been sold for Wednesday's meeting with Croatia.
The Men's European Handball Championship will be held from January 15 to February 1. The championship will be shared between Sweden, Norway and Denmark.
Blågult will play their first group game and a potential intermediate-round game in Malmö Arena.
Sweden's matches in Group E:
17/1: Netherlands 36–31.
19/1: Georgia (8:30 p.m.).
21/1: Croatia (8:30 p.m.).
The top two in the group advance to the intermediate round and take points from head-to-head matches.
There, two opponents from Group D (consisting of Slovenia, Faroe Islands, Switzerland and Montenegro) and two opponents from Group F (Iceland, Hungary, Poland, Italy) await.
The second intermediate round will be decided in Herning, Denmark, where the semifinals and medal matches will also be played.
