The Swedish threat to Blue-Yellow: "He knows us well"

The women's handball team is reloading in the Olympic Games – and faces a familiar Swedish face. Former national team captain Henrik Signell is now leading South Korea. Of course, he has some tactical moves against us, says Nathalie Hagman.

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The Swedish threat to Blue-Yellow: "He knows us well"
Photo: Beate Oma Dahle/NTB/TT

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The blue and yellow right-wing player was one of the players who faced the press the day after the tough loss to Denmark.

Now South Korea awaits, a match that Hagman feels Sweden should win. Even though Signell, who led the national team 2016-2020, happens to have a little extra good insight into the Swedish players.

It's going to be fun and we've run into him and chatted a few times here in the Olympic Games village. He knows us well and knows how we function, but I hope it's not enough to win against us, says the 33-year-old.

"Long night after the loss"

South Korea surprised and won the Olympic Games premiere against Germany with the winning goal, but has since lost to both Slovenia and Norway.

For Sweden, it's about quickly shaking off the disappointment after losing 23-21 to 23-25 in the end against Denmark.

It was a long night after the loss and a lot of talk, I didn't fall asleep until four o'clock, says team captain Jamina Roberts.

Now we're standing here and are a bit sour about losing. But if someone had said before the Olympic Games that we would stand on four points - after meeting Norway, Germany, and Denmark - we would have just thanked and accepted.

If Sweden wins its remaining matches, first against South Korea and then against Slovenia, it will be enough to finish at least second in the group and get a theoretically easier opponent in the quarterfinals.

Exploit the physicality

Tomas Axnér wants to see Sweden exploit its physical superiority over the smaller Korean players. Even Axnér has high hopes for victory, but he acknowledges that Signell has a tactical advantage in the coaching battle.

He has absolute advantages because he knows our culture and many of our players inside and out, and has coached many of them. I don't have much to counter with, except that I played with a Korean in Germany once...

The match against South Korea begins at 11 am on Thursday.

Three out of five rounds have been played in the group stage.

Norway, Sweden, and Denmark all have four points. Germany, South Korea, and Slovenia all have two points.

The four best teams advance to the quarterfinals.

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By TTEnglish edition by Sweden Herald, adapted for local and international readers

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