Sweden got their fourth win in six games and remain unbeaten at Spain 2021, dominating Romania, 34:30.

The Scandinavian side face now a short wait for the game between the Netherlands and Norway, which will decide their fate, with any other result than a draw in which the two teams score 32 goals or more helping Sweden progress to the quarter-finals.

MAIN ROUND GROUP II
Sweden vs Romania 34:30 (19:14)

If Sweden were expecting their last game in the main round to be a walk in the park, they were wrong and made to sweat for at least the first 25 minutes by a sturdy and gritty Romania side.

The usual load of goals by Nathalie Hagman dried up in the first half, with the reliable right wing scoring four times, with all goals coming from penalty shots. 

Ideally, Sweden would have wanted to start fast and never look back, but their defence was constantly exposed when line player Crina Pintea opened lanes or received remarkable passes from centre back Cristina Laslo.

Therefore, whenever the Scandinavian side opened a gap larger than two goals, Romania relied on their defence to win balls and convert the following attacks, cutting the gap to one goal three times, more recently with six minutes and 41 seconds to go in the first half, 15:14.

Yet, Sweden’s superior depth, experience and chemistry worked wonders in the end of the first 30 minutes. With the Romanian starting line-up getting more and more tired by the fast pace of the game, the goals quickly dried up for Adrian Vasile’s team.

Using a 4:0 run to end the first half, Sweden were comfortably up at the break, 19:14, with seemingly nothing fazing them in the closing minutes, when they improved their shooting efficiency to 68%, while also winning the forced turnover battle seven to four. 

When Sweden went up by six, 22:16 in the 33rd minute, everything seemed to be over. But Romania deployed a man-to-man coverage on Sweden’s playmaker Jamina Roberts and everything changed. A 4:0 run from Romania brought them back in the game (20:22) and Sweden started to sweat.

Romania threw everything at Sweden, deploying a seven-on-six attack by replacing the goalkeeper Yuliya Dumanska with an outfield player, yet their energy levels were lower and lower.

Therefore, it was impossible for Romania to compete at the highest level in defence, where Swedish left back Jenny Carlsson scored four goals between the 46th and 53rd minute, lifting Sweden to a 32:27 lead with six minutes to go.

Eventually, Sweden got the win they needed, 34:30, despite Romania trying with all their might to stop them, as Cristina Laslo, the hummel Player of the Match, delivered another good performance, scoring seven times and delivering nine assists.

With four wins and two draws at Spain 2021, Sweden are now biting their nails waiting for the decider of the Group II, between the Netherlands and Norway. The Scandinavian side are leading the standings with eight points, but are not qualified yet for the next phase.

Any other result than a draw with the two teams scoring 32 goals or more would see Sweden through from the second place in the group, therefore it will be an arduous wait for Tomas Axner’s side until the conclusion of the group.

On the other hand, Romania finished fourth in the group – however, they will be happy with their performances, as they won three games and pushed reigning world champions the Netherlands until the last seconds in their 30:31 loss.

hummel Player of the Match: Cristina Laslo, Romania

Photo: RFEBM / Á. Bermejo