A year after winning the silver medal at the 2021 IHF Men’s World Championship, Sweden went all the way and secured their fifth-ever European crown after taking a last-gasp win, 27:26, in the EHF EURO 2022 final against Spain.

The Scandinavian side retained their status as the most decorated team in history in the European premium competition, winning five gold medals, two more than France, and secured the European title for the first time since 2002, marking the end of the longest wait for a trophy out of the teams who had already won it.

Sweden, who were the only team to win the competitions three times in a row, prevented ‘Los Hispanos’ to tie that achievement with a great combination of team spirit, grit and amazing defensive prowess, conceding only 24.5 goals per game in the nine matches played in the tournament co-hosted by Hungary and Slovakia.

After conceding a 28:32 loss in the preliminary round against Spain, the odds were stacked against Sweden, who welcomed back three influential players in the roster, wings Hampus Wanne and Niclas Ekberg as well as back Felix Claar.

However, with an amazing defence, that really held Spain at bay for most of the game, Sweden could focus on attack, where centre back Jim Gottfridsson directed the play once again, with three goals and seven assists.

However, the game was not decided until the last second, as right back Albin Lagergren secured a penalty shot after a foul made by Joan Canellas. Niclas Ekberg, who only played for one minute and 20 seconds during the game, was ice cold and beat Gonzalo Perez de Vargas, handing Sweden their fifth title in history at the EHF EURO.

“I really cannot describe in words what has happened today. We played our third final after two defeats in the last four years, we had not beaten Spain for a long time, and now we stand on the podium. It was an incredible match, but at the moment my head is not clear enough to analyse what had happened. So many little things were decisive today, one goal, one save, and of course we were luckier than Spain,” said Sweden’s goalkeeper, Andreas Palicka, who finished the tournament with 66 saves, including 12 in the final against Spain.
 

‘Los Hispanos’ have the largest number of medals in history at the EHF EURO, winning nine in 15 editions, including four since 2016 – two silver medals and two gold medals – after also building a 17-game unbeaten streak between 2018 and 2022, the largest in the history of the competition.

Reigning world champions Denmark secured the bronze medal with a 35:32 extra time win against France. The Scandinavian powerhouse were unbeaten in the first six games, but dropped two, one against France on the last match day of the main round, and a 25:29 loss against Spain in the semi-finals, as the former European champions avenged the losses from the semi-finals at Egypt 2021 and at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.

It was the first medal won by Denmark at the EHF EURO since 2014, when they secured the silver in a final against France.

Gottfridsson writes history for Sweden

An average of 56 goals per game were scored in the overall 65 matches scheduled in the five venues in Hungary and Slovakia, with Iceland’s right back Omar Ingi Magnusson becoming the top scorer of the tournament with 59 goals scored in the eight games he played.

Magnusson was followed by Mikkel Hansen, the MVP of the last two IHF Men’s World Championship editions, with 48 goals, and Poland’s right wing, Arkadiusz Moryto, who scored 47 times in the seven games he played in the tournament.

The right back became the first Iceland player to win the award since Olafur Stefansson scored 58 goals at the EHF EURO 2002 and the third-best top scorer in a single tournament, after Sander Sagosen scored 65 goals two years ago and Kiril Lazarov recorded 61 goals in 2012.

Sweden’s centre back Jim Gottfridsson was named the MVP of the tournament for the second time in his career, after already taking home the award in 2018.

Gottfridsson joined two greats in Croatian centre back Ivano Balic and France’s left back Nikola Karabatic as the only players to secure the MVP award at the EHF EURO two times, after finishing 15th in the top scorer standings with 36 goals and first in the top assists standings with 54 decisive passes for his teammates.

Seven nations were represented in the All-star Team of the EHF EURO 2022, with Iceland’s goalkeeper Viktor Halgrimsson taking the plaudits, after saving 51 shots for a 30% saving efficiency, while two Danish players, left back Mikkel Hansen and right back Mathias Gidsel, the Tokyo 2020 MVP, also made the cut. 

Spain’s right wing Aleix Gomez Abello and Montenegro’s left wing Milos Vujovic were the best wings, while Netherland’s Luc Steins also made the All-star Team as best centre back. Finally, Germany’s line player Johannes Golla spearheaded the All-star Team for his superb work both in attack and in defence, while Sweden’s Oscar Bergendahl, at his maiden EHF EURO, was elected the best defender in the competition.

Spain, France and Norway qualified for the 2023 IHF Men’s World Championship, joining reigning champions Denmark and co-hosts Poland and Sweden as the European teams that have already sealed their berths for the competition.

For more information on the EHF EURO 2022, visit eurohandball.com. 

Photos: EHF / kolektiff / Jozo Cabraja