Sweden are the first team in the women’s competition to secure two wins in the first two matches at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, after an excellent overall performance against Germany, 31:28.

PARIS 2024 OLYMPIC GAMES – PRELIMINARY ROUND
GROUP B
Sweden vs Germany 31:28 (19:12)

On Saturday, Sweden and Germany faced in the men’s competition, with the latter side taking a crucial 30:27 win, one which could prove very important in the maths for the quarter-finals. A win was even more important for Germany’s women team against Sweden, after their loss against the Republic of Korea, 22:23, in the first matchday of the preliminary round.

But just like in the quarter-finals of the 2023 IHF Women’s World Championship, when Germany failed to score in the first 14 minutes of the match, a drop in their level in the first half enabled Sweden to put together a strong run, which was the turning point of the match, with Germany failing to attempt a comeback.

This time around, there were two unanswered runs, one which had Sweden score three goals in a row, and another where the Scandinavian side had four goals in a row, as goalkeeper Johanna Bundsen provided yet another fantastic outing.

By the 40th minute, Bundsen had 12 saves and a 40% saving efficiency, as Germany simply could not  match Sweden’s output in the first half, when the Scandinavian side ran away and created a seven-goal lead, 19:12, as centre back Jenny Carlson and right wing Nathalie Hagman combined for eight goals.

But it was not necessarily about Carlson and Hagman, it was a perfectly well-rounded performance from Sweden, which saw 13 of their 14 players on the scoresheet score at least one goal, including an open-goal shot converted by Bundsen, punishing Germany’s attempt to risk it all on a seven-on-six attack.

Germany faltered in all aspects of the match – be it defence, attack or goalkeeping – with Sweden converting a 74% of their shots, a performance which could not see them concede a loss, as the Scandinavian side did just the right things on the court to preserve their advantage.

With a seven-goal lead at the break, Sweden could afford to make some changes and rest some players, but the plan could have backfired, as Germany gave it their all to mount a comeback. Centre back Alina Grijseels, right back Julia Maidhof and right wing Jenny Behrend scored five goals each, but all of them missed crucial shots, with Germany’s efficiency plummeting to 53% in the match.

Germany could only cut the gap to three goals, 29:26, with three minutes left, but Sweden navigated the last moments of the match with calm and composure, eventually securing a 31:28 win, their second in a row.

With two wins in their first two matches, Sweden had a fantastic start at Paris 2024 and are on the top of the group, with a Scandinavian derby against Denmark following, while Germany need to start winning, as they are still due to face Slovenia, Denmark and Norway, with their chances of a place in the knock-out phase being slimmer and slimmer.