In an exciting match, two European teams did not find a winner, and while title-holders Netherlands won Group D on goal difference, both sides will take three points with them to the main round. 

GROUP D
Netherlands vs Sweden 31:31 (18:17)

After big wins against Uzbekistan and Puerto Rico, this was the first serious test for both teams, who boasted the two best attacks in the whole competition after two rounds of games. And the opponents were worth each other, making the encounter entertaining, exchanging fast attacks from the opening minutes. 

“Both teams wanted to win, but overall, a draw is a fair result. It was an intense game with a lot of fighting,” said Sweden’s coach Tomas Axner. 

Although his team conceded 17 goals before the break, their goalkeeper Jessica Ryde also made multiple saves, helping her team to dominate. Netherlands’ coach Monique Tijsterman called for her first time-out already five minutes into the match, as her team were down 2:5.

Sweden went on to control the match at 12:7, then 18:13, but the reigning world champions showed character late in the first half and capitalised on their opponents’ mistakes, as a 4:0 run saw them close the gap to just one goal.

Soon after the restart, Lois Abbingh drew level from the 7m line, but Netherlands had to wait until minute 50 for their first lead, when Debbie Bont made the score 27:26.

Although both teams were running out of energy, extremely tight battle continued until the end of this thrilling match. 40 seconds from full time, the teams were level at 31:31 when Tomas Axner took a time-out. Yet, in the last second, his team missed a chance to snatch a win, as Carin Stromberg’s shot was stopped by the brilliant Tess Wester.

“We didn’t start the game very well, but then we changed defence to 5-1 and got more power in attack. Overall, I’m very satisfied with the result,” said Netherlands’ coach Monique Tijsterman. 

Jamina Roberts, the third-best scorer of the current EHF Champions League with her club IK Savehof, was named hummel Player of the Match after scoring eight goals. Her teammate Nathalie Hagman, who had netted record-breaking 19 times against Puerto Rico, was restricted to five goals today. And for Netherlands, Debbie Bont became top scorer with six goals. 

hummel Player of the Match: Jamina Roberts, Sweden

Photo: RFEBM / J. L. Recio