The trip to the away match with Denmark in Næstved south of Copenhagen could have been less problematic for the Swedish national handball team. The bus journey from the World Cup camp in Halmstad took longer than expected due to an accident in the snowstorm outside Helsingborg and the return time was delayed by ten minutes.
Once on the field, Blågult only led once in the match. The Danes led by four points at halftime (18–14) and barely halfway into the second act, the lead was up to ten points.
In the end, it was a Swedish loss by a whopping 23–35. The top scorer in Sweden was Nathalie Hagman with six hits.
"We weren't particularly sharp in our finishing today. We could have scored 30 goals if we had managed our chances. I actually think we played our way to some great opportunities," says national team captain Tomas Axnér to the national handball team's website.
Anna Lagerquist and Jenny Carlson are returning from foot injuries and did not play against Denmark. Tyra Axnér also did not play because she was feeling unwell.
The teams meet again in Halmstad on Saturday.
"It feels like we can improve everything for Saturday's match in Halmstad," says middle schooler Linn Blohm.
In addition to the Czech Republic, Sweden has Cuba and Brazil in the World Cup group stage in Stuttgart. The top three teams advance to the intermediate round in Dortmund. The World Cup is co-hosted by the Netherlands and Germany.
