There are 79 days left until the European Championship opener against the Netherlands in Malmö, but the blue and yellow handball masters did not show any championship brilliance in the international match against Spain.
"If you let 34 behind, you have to be incredibly sharp going forward and it's difficult against such a good defense with a world-class goalkeeper like (Sergey) Hernandez. They made it difficult for us today," national captain Michael Apelgren told SVT.
Apelgren took over the national team last year. His first championship in January 2025 ended with a 14th place at the World Championships.
“Ironically enough”
Since then, a major focus has been on closing the gap.
Ironically, what we have been working on is getting the defense together and we didn't succeed in that today, says Apelgren.
Spain scored a lot of easy goals, especially through passes in the middle. At the same time, the Swedish players did not stick to what had been agreed upon before the match.
We miss a bit in our own rules. There were a little too many duel losses, which should be our thing. It's maybe a little too costly. Then we don't manage to get this tight feeling, says Apelgren.
In the European Championship, Sweden may encounter Spain first in a possible semi-final. Apelgren will present his European Championship squad on December 11, but he is not panicking after Thursday's loss to the Spaniards.
“Don't panic”
The important thing is to try to stick to our basic thinking in Swedish handball. I think we should continue there and not panic over a match that was like this.
Felix Claar and Lukas Sandell were the top scorers with seven and six goals respectively. Other young players such as 19-year-old Nikola Roganovic (four goals) and 20-year-old Axel Månsson (two) impressed.
"Great in every way. That's what you want to see. You want to see courage and that they show that they are the future of Swedish handball," says Michael Apelgren.
Sweden and Spain meet again on Saturday in Eskilstuna.
Correction: In a previous version, the wrong date was stated for when the European Championship squad will be presented.
The Men's European Handball Championship will be held from January 15 to February 1. The host countries are Sweden, Denmark and Norway.
Sweden will play its matches in the first group stage in Malmö and will face the Netherlands (January 17), Georgia (January 19) and Croatia (January 21).
Even in a possible intermediate round – the top two in six four-team groups advance – Blågult will play in Malmö. Semifinals and medal matches will be played in Herning, Denmark.
Sweden's upcoming international matches:
Saturday: Spain in Eskilstuna (5:30 p.m.).
January 5: Brazil in Jönköping (18.10).
January 7: Brazil in Partille (18.10).
