In the handball EM opener at Malmö Arena, 19-year-old Nikola Roganovic from HK Malmö led Sweden to a convincing 36-31 win over the Netherlands with seven goals from seven shots. The homegrown talent was hailed as a new Zlatan Ibrahimovic after his impressive debut. The match drew a full house and created a blue-and-yellow festive atmosphere.
The handball EM kicked off on January 17 at Malmö Arena with an exciting opener in Group E between Sweden and the Netherlands. Sweden, hosting its group stage matches in Malmö, faced a Netherlands side making its fourth straight EM appearance and considered an underdog under former Swedish coach Staffan Olsson.
The game was tight at first, but after about 20 minutes in the opening half, the breakthrough came when 19-year-old HK Malmö talent Nikola Roganovic substituted in. In his eight minutes on the court in the first half, he scored four goals from four shots, including three penalties, helping Sweden to a 16-12 halftime lead. In the second half, he added three more penalty goals, totaling seven from seven attempts. Only teammate Felix Claar, with eight goals, scored more.
Roganovic, making his championship debut, described the feeling afterward: 'This was the most powerful match I've played. Incredibly powerful. It was the most powerful match I've played. Incredibly fun to play. It felt incredibly good today. A perfect start to our championship.' He was praised by expert Bella Gulldén in Viaplay's broadcast: 'Roganovic comes in as if he's done nothing else. You just sit here and smile.'
Felix Claar, also from HK Malmö, expressed his joy: 'It was really nice. Nervous before, but you could feel something fun was coming. I got a lot of minutes today and I like that. It was fantastic to play in Malmö Arena.' Later in the match, HK Malmö's Felix Montebovi also made his debut.
The arena, packed with 11,800 spectators, buzzed with excitement, and Roganovic noted: 'We got incredible support from the stands and that makes it much easier. The family was here and even my brother, he came from Denmark.' The win over the Netherlands followed Croatia's 32-29 victory over Georgia earlier that evening. Sweden continues group play against Georgia on January 19 and Croatia on January 21. The top two in the group advance to the main round, also held in Malmö.
