Sweden's men's handball team secured their second straight win in the EM with a 38-29 victory over Georgia, qualifying for the main round. Young players Felix Montebovi and Nikola Roganovic made significant contributions in the match at Malmö arena. The next challenge is a group final against Croatia on Wednesday.
Sweden's men's handball team started the EM strongly with a win over the Netherlands (36-31) and followed up with a convincing victory against Georgia on Monday. The match at Malmö arena ended 38-29 (20-15 at halftime), securing advancement to the main round alongside Croatia, who beat the Netherlands 35-29 earlier in the evening.
Felix Claar opened the scoring with Sweden's first three goals, but it was the young winger Felix Montebovi from HK Malmö who grabbed the headlines in the second half. Called up to the EM squad due to Jerry Tollbrings' injury, he scored his three first championship goals. One came in collaboration with club teammate Nikola Roganovic, who tallied six goals overall. 'It was fun to score with Nico [Roganovic]. We find each other well because we play in the same club team,' Montebovi said with a smile after the match.
The goalkeepers rotated: Mikael Appelgren guarded the goal in the first half but had a slow start, while Andreas Palicka took over at halftime and made several saves. 'I had a bit of a slow start on the first two or three shots. [...] it was nice to feel that my body responded well,' Palicka commented, having recently recovered from an eye injury.
Captain Jim Gottfridsson was pleased with the win but called for improvement. 'It's great to have a win and many goals. But we should have won bigger. We were sloppy in periods,' he told Viaplay. Coach Michael Apelgren gave all players playing time, broadening the squad for upcoming matches. Axel Månsson and Fabian Norsten, however, did not get a chance and sat in the stands.
On Wednesday, Croatia awaits in a decisive group final, where the points carry over to the next round. 'It will be a bang on Wednesday,' Gottfridsson promised.
