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Sublime Sweden hand Japan largest loss in 35 years with 39-goal outing

16 Jan. 2025

Sublime Sweden hand Japan largest loss in 35 years with 39-goal outing

After some shaky performances in the friendly matches and losing some key players before the start of the 2025 IHF Men’s World Championship, Sweden left no stone unturned to clinch a clear 39:21 win over Japan, throwing off the competition in style.

GROUP F
Sweden vs Japan 39:21 (17:13)


Japan were returning to the IHF Men’s World Championship after missing out on the 2023 edition, where Sweden finished on the fourth place. Therefore, the Scandinavian side was the favourite in this match, but their previous performances in the second half of 2024 were uninspiring and with a new coach at the helm, as Michael Apelgren replaced Glenn Solberg, a surprise could have been on the cards.

Just ask Norway, which started with a 4:0 lead against Brazil, only to falter in the second half and concede a 26:29 loss against the South American team, a match which surely served as motivation for Sweden, which were aiming to have a 100% winning record until the third match in the group, against Spain.

Sweden were already in the know about Japan’s preference for a fast-pace brand of handball, but the Scandinavian side was the one which delivered the better start, with a 4:1 run in the first four minutes, where Apelgren’s side surprised their Asian counterparts with fast breaks and fast throw offs.

Slowly, but surely, Japan were back in the match. Despite missing some key players in centre back Kosuke Yasuhira and line player Shuichi Yoshida, the Asian side still had dazzling centre back Naoki Fujisaka in their roster and he spearheaded a comeback, which saw Toni Gerona’s side cut the gap to only two goals, 8:6.

Goalkeeper Andreas Palicka took over the match and recorded 13 saves, for a 42% saving efficiency, as Sweden registered a four-goal lead, 17:13, at the break, with a strong performance from their right back, Albin Lagergren, and right wing Sebastian Karlsson.

The two were their team’s top scorers, combining for 15 goals, as Sweden pulled away rather fast in the second half, leaving Japan well behind. In fact, Sweden used a 10:1 run, spinning between the 24th and the 37th minutes to decide the match, as they were simply unstoppable in attack, where they posted a 76% shooting efficiency.

By the time Japan scored another goal, the gap had already ballooned to 10 goals, as it proved to be impossible for the Asian side to simply put a fight, due to their large turnovers number, 16 throughout the whole match.

And then, as Apelgren decided to shuffle the pack, he also replaced Palicka with Fabian Norsten, who saved six of the first eight shots he faced, to pile on more misery on Japan, which had a shooting efficiency of only 43% at the end of the match. All but one of Sweden’s outfield players scored at least one goal, while Jim Gottfridsson finished the match with 11 assists.

Eventually, Japan conceded a 21:39 loss, their largest at the IHF Men’s World Championship since the 16:35 one against the Soviet Union in 1990, while Sweden threw off their campaign in style, scoring 39 goals and securing their 130th win in history in the world handball flagship competition.

hummel Player of the Match: Andreas Palicka (Sweden)