On Saturday evening, Sweden won over a higher-ranked Spain with 3–1 in the European Championship qualifying match. But it was not until later in the evening that the news came that Sweden was clear for the European Championship when Belgium beat Austria.
We found out individually because it was so late in the evening. Therefore, we have not celebrated that much yet, says Viktor Lindberg.
Most recently, Sweden's men's volleyball team played a European Championship was in 1993. Viktor Lindberg, who was born in 1996, says that he has heard more stories from 1989 when Sweden took European Championship silver.
Praises the coach
But now, after several years of wandering in the desert, Swedish volleyball is on the verge of getting a new national team at the top level. The Swedish men have impressed greatly during the European Championship qualifying match and Viktor Lindberg says that the coach Gido Vermeulen is a major reason for the successes. He has experience of, among other things, training the Netherlands' and Egypt's national teams and came to Sweden last year.
He emphasizes that none of us is greater than the team. With us, there are not two to three players who can decide the matches. It's about the whole team. Spain has several bigger stars than us, but it did not help.
Lindberg continues:
Sweden has previously had good players, but not managed to get the group together and be the best when it matters. Gido Vermeulen has made us a team. Moreover, we are quite easy to coach because we do not have that much to rely on individually. We are young and moldable. He also has a style of play that suits us young people.
Viktor Lindberg is the oldest in the Swedish team with his 29 years.
World Championship thoughts
The European Championship will be decided in September 2026. The group stage will be played in Finland, Romania, Bulgaria, and Italy.
It is not clear in which group we will end up. With our development curve, we should be able to be with and beat some teams in the group stage to be able to move on, says Lindberg.
On Saturday, Sweden will play a European Championship qualifying match against Switzerland. It may seem like a meaningless match since Sweden is clear for the European Championship.
On the contrary. We want to win that match to take as many ranking points as possible to increase our chances of later also being able to play in the World Championship, says Viktor Lindberg firmly.
