After the two initial big wins against Japan (39–21) and Chile (42–30), Spain was an opponent of a completely different caliber in the group final at the World Championship in Oslo.
It's the first real tough test to see where we are right now as a team. Spain is an incredibly strong opponent, said team captain and goalkeeper Andreas Palicka to Viaplay before the match.
Lagergren shone
Right-winger Albin Lagergren had been hot during the championship with 15 goals – now the 32-year-old was on fire. He scored three of Sweden's four first goals, fixed penalties and played as a center forward.
Total, Lagergren landed on six goals during the first half when Sweden went to halftime with a 16–11 lead. A strong defense gave a brilliant Swedish counter-attack and in goal, Palicka outshone his Spanish counterpart Gonzalo Pérez de Vargas.
Despite a five-goal lead, it would become a real thriller. With barely eleven minutes left to play, Lagergren scored 25–20 for Sweden – two minutes later, the lead had shrunk to two goals after three straight Spanish goals and a missed penalty by Sweden.
With just over a minute left, it was tied (28–28). Then, the comeback veteran Niclas Ekberg stepped forward and scored 29–28 on a penalty with 35 seconds left to play.
Late equalizer
However, it didn't become a match-winning goal. With four seconds left to play, Alex Dujshebaev scored the equalizer to 29–29.
The winner's mentality in me is of course disappointed right now. The last shot goes in and it's a tie. We had the lead almost the entire match, says Palicka to Viaplay after the match.
The equalizer went post, post, and in behind Palicka.
They are basically impossible to shake off. We led by seven goals at most, says the Swedish veteran goalkeeper.
The point means that Sweden – like Spain – advances to the intermediate round with three points.
There's a lot of positives to take with us. We got many good answers, says Palicka.
Now, three matches against Portugal (four points), Brazil (two), and a disappointing Norway await. The host nation – one of three – will enter the intermediate round with zero points and the Norwegians will likely have a hard time advancing.
The two top teams in the group reach the quarterfinals.
Sweden's matches in the intermediate round:
Wednesday, January 22: Portugal.
Friday, January 24: Brazil.
Sunday, January 26: Norway.
Standings in the intermediate round, group 3: Portugal 4 points, Sweden 3 points, Spain 3 points, Brazil 2 points, Norway 0 points, Chile 0 points.
The two top teams in the intermediate round's four groups advance to the quarterfinals, which will be played on January 28 and 29.
