Sweden eliminated from the World Championship: "Totally bloody worthless"

The Swedish sharpshooter was downbeat and critical afterwards.

About the final score and a missed Blue and Yellow advancement to the quarterfinals, he says:

It's clearly unacceptable. We should be fighting for the whole way with the team we have.

Is it a fiasco?

Yes, I would say based on how we have performed in other years. We have almost reached the semifinals every time, and now we don't even make it to the quarterfinals, says Lagergren.

Sweden knew at kick-off that at least one point was required to keep the quarterfinal hopes alive in the World Championship.

But the match became a nightmare where everything went wrong from the start.

Brazil took the lead 5–1. Goalkeeper Rangel Da Rosa quickly gained a mental advantage over the Swedish shooters. He saved two penalties and several open chances.

Defensively, Sweden also had major problems. And it didn't get easier when midfielder Felix Möller was sent off with a red card after a hit on Hugo Monte Da Silva.

Awful Half

The first half must be ranked as the worst that this Swedish national team has done in many years, at least in a championship match of significance.

The Swedes looked paralyzed as Brazil continued to pull away, but the final seconds before the break gave a small but much-needed energy boost to Blue and Yellow. Andreas Palicka saved a penalty when Brazil had a chance to take a seven-goal lead – and instead, Lukas Sandell countered to make it 9–14.

We're not playing as a team, we're playing as individuals, and that's why we're easy to beat, says Lagergren.

Goalkeeper Change

Andreas Palicka was replaced by Tobias Thulin directly after the break. Thulin, who had been sitting on the bench earlier in the World Championship, got off to a good start with a few saves, and Sweden narrowed the deficit to three goals.

Brazil responded by pulling away again, but Sweden kept chasing.

A penalty save by Thulin followed by two straight Sandell goals narrowed the deficit to 17–18. With just over a quarter left, Blue and Yellow were back in the game.

But Sweden never caught up, and instead, Brazil pulled away and killed the match.

The Olympic Games last summer were a disappointment with an exit in the quarterfinals. The autumn was then turbulent when Glenn Solberg unexpectedly resigned as national team coach. Successor Michael Apelgren didn't get an easy start when key players like Felix Claar, Oscar Bergendahl, and Max Darj all missed the World Championship due to injuries.

Fiasco

But for Sweden to miss the quarterfinals in this way – already before the last round of the intermediate round – can't be classified as anything other than a fiasco. This is the first time since the 2016 Olympic Games that the blue and yellow handball players haven't even made it among the top eight.

The Swedish loss also killed Norway's hopes of reaching the quarterfinals in the home World Championship.

Brazil takes the second quarterfinal spot behind Portugal from the intermediate round in Oslo. The match between Norway and Sweden on Sunday evening will be without significance.

Carl Göransson/TT