It was certainly no win when the Swedish men met France in Wednesday's big match at Scandinavium.
But the record-large audience – 12,224 spectators – got to their great delight see a national team that played evenly against France and ultimately fell by a single goal (32–33).
We met the same France last autumn and were completely chanceless (31–37), says national team coach Michael Apelgren to TT afterwards.
Today we stand here and think that we could just as well have won. We have taken big steps.
"Tough blow"
EHF Euro Cup is a training tournament for the four teams that are directly qualified for next year's European Championship (host nations Sweden, Denmark, and Norway, as well as champion team France).
The matches' sporting significance is therefore of lesser importance. At the same time, the 14th-place in the Handball World Championship last winter was a real blow for Sweden.
It was a tough blow for us as athletes and for us as a team. Then it's about recovering, evaluating, and moving on from there, says Andreas Palicka.
The experienced goalkeeper points, among other things, to injuries as part of the explanation for the World Championship fiasco. Michael Apelgren also mentions new leadership, where he was thrown in last autumn after Glenn Solberg suddenly quit.
Since it was new leadership and we had players who were away, we have clarified things. There is a big difference in where we have arrived, says Apelgren.
Strong faith within the national team
In March, Sweden defeated Norway twice – including one in front of a then-record-large audience at Avicii Arena.
the France match, Denmark awaits on Sunday when the EHF Euro Cup is completed.
After that, the focus will be directed towards the home European Championship in January next year. According to Simon Jeppsson – who is back in the blue and yellow jersey for the first time since 2020 – there is a strong faith within the national team.
The atmosphere is very good, and a home championship is approaching. We want to do everything we can to offer the audience the best handball and the best results, says Jeppsson.
