Sweden's women's handball team has been drawn against Germany, Slovakia and Serbia in the group stage of the handball EM in December. Coach Tomas Axnér describes it as a tough group. Qualification ended over the weekend with a win over Lithuania and farewells for Jamina Roberts and Nathalie Hagman.
Sweden's women's handball team qualified perfectly for the EM by winning all six qualification matches, the last 39-18 against Lithuania. Jamina Roberts and Nathalie Hagman played their final international matches in qualification, but both have ended their national team careers.
The EM opponents are now set: Germany, Slovakia and Serbia in the group stage in Bratislava, Slovakia. The EM runs from December 3-20 across six host cities: Katowice (Poland), Brno (Czechia), Bratislava (Slovakia), Oradea and Cluj-Napoca (Romania), and Antalya (Turkey).
"A tough group", says coach Tomas Axnér in a press release. He highlights Germany as a key match, as they reached the final in their home World Championship, though Sweden has beaten them recently. Serbia, beaten twice by Sweden in qualification, is seen as the toughest from its seeding group.
"The first goal is to advance to the main round with the best possible preconditions", Axnér adds. Norway are the reigning champions and have dominated women's handball in recent years.
