Paris 2024 | Shorthanded Sweden seal superb win against Croatia to extend quarter-finals hopes

Facing a must-win match to stay alive in the battle for a quarter-finals berth, Sweden complicated matters even more in Group A of the men’s handball competition at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, with a fantastic comeback to take a 37:28 win over Croatia, tying their opponents on four points in the group standings.

PARIS 2024 OLYMPIC GAMES – PRELIMINARY ROUND
GROUP A
Croatia vs Sweden 27:38 (15:18)

Sweden faced a must-win match against Croatia in the fourth matchday of Group A in the men’s handball competition at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, but the Scandinavian side had the odds stacked against them.

Not only they lost influential centre back Jim Gottfridsson for this match, after he was suspended by the IHF Disciplinary Commission due to particularly reckless, particularly dangerous, premeditated or malicious action in the match against Slovenia, they were also without another centre back, Felix Claar, substituted due to an injury.

That meant that Sweden faced a strong opponent without two of their best players, as well as with only one right wing, Sebastian Karlsson, in the squad, after Daniel Pettersson also left the match against Slovenia with an injury.

And the start played directly into Croatia’s hands, as goalkeeper Dominik Kuzmanovic worked wonders between the posts, having nine saves for a 45% saving efficiency in the first 20 minutes. The right flank was also very efficient, with wing Mario Sostaric and back Ivan Martinovic combining for nine goals in the first half.

But after Croatia took a 10:6 lead after 16 minutes, everything starting to collapse for Dagur Sigurdsson’s side. In the next 14 minutes, Sweden bounced back and scored 12 times, double the number of goals from the first half of the first 30 minutes of the match, leaving Croatia searching for answers.

It was a collective effort, rather than a starring performance from a single player, with eight players scoring at least two goals, while left back Karl Wallinius led the charge with three goals. And while Croatia scored only five goals in the last 14 minutes, Sweden used a 12:5 run to take a 18:15 lead at the break, with their opponents still struggling to find answers and trying to regroup.

It went from bad to worse in the start of the second half, when Sweden opened the match with a 3:0 unanswered run, forcing Sigurdsson to take another team time-out, after only two minutes and 43 seconds of the second part, as Croatia’s defence was totally collapsing.

When Domagoj Duvnjak finally broke the curse for Croatia in the second half, after five minutes and 31 seconds, Sweden were up by eight goals, 23:15, as that 3:0 run morphed into a 5:0 one, with the Scandinavian side extending their excellent distribution of attacks.

It was game over, despite Croatia trying their utmost to bounce back from that deficit, especially as Sweden’s goalkeeper, Andreas Palicka, working wonders between the posts, with a 15-save outing, for a 42% saving efficiency, as literally every effort from Croatia to cut the gap was met with a swift answer from Sweden. Left wing Lucas Pellas scored nine goals, being a safe pair of hands, while Albin Lagergren and Sebastian Karlsson each scored five goals for Sweden, combining for 19 of their team's 37 goals.

Eventually, the Scandinavian side secured a 37:28 win, with not only the two points being crucial in a potential tie-breaker situation, but also the big goal difference, which can work in Sweden’s favour and, potentially, see Croatia backed in a tough spot, especially after the loss against Slovenia.

As both teams are on four points, the last matchday in this group will decide whether Croatia and Sweden will progress to the next phase. Croatia face Spain in a do-or-die clash, while Sweden have the edge, as they face Japan, which lost the first three matches and could be out of contention, if they lose against Slovenia later on Friday.