When Sweden saw their group draw for Kazan 2018, they may have thought that playing against the all-time record holders Brazil and hosts Russia in their first two games would have provided some great experience in their first-ever world championship on sand at any level or gender.

However, they did more than that, winning both games on the shootout and booking their ticket to the main round at the end of day one.

“It’s so great,” said Sweden coach Helene Bernhardtz after the 2:1 (13:20) (23:18) [6:9 SO] over Russia.  “It was on the centre court, Russia are the host nation, and we took the game on in the shootout - it’s fantastic.

“Our goal was to go into this main round and to do it for by winning against Russia on their own sand is just great. We were a little bit nervous at the beginning, as it was so big for us and we hadn’t been here before, so after the first set we talked about tactics in the break and it was a combination of mental and tactical changes, but mostly mental, and we turned it around – we will enjoy it for 5-10 minutes and then we prepare for the next game.”

Goalkeeper Peter Stelleck was crucial in the shootout win against Russia, saving the decisive penalty from Russian beach legend Roman Kalashnikov and after the win his emotions were still high, but he revealed that save was thanks to some intense preparation.

“The emotions are fantastic,” he said. “We didn’t count on coming here and beating Russia on their home court in the first game, so we are more-than satisfied with the game. 

“We met them a couple of times now and I’ve been close to saving his shots,” said Stelleck about Kalashnikov, “but this time was my time - we talked about when he bends over to shoot like he did, and when he does that’s when goalkeepers go low. We actually saw that on video, analysed that and that helped a lot with that save - Russia actually chose to be in our group so that’s why we are extra proud of the win.

“Our defence is very good, so we were close in the first half to blocking them but they’re really good players all of them, so it was not easy,” he continued. “But we worked into the game and when it was close to the end we started to get some saves and the defence got hold of their specialist who’s really good. 

“Our nerves loosened up in the second half and we could play like we know we can. We had our friends and family in Zagreb at the 2017 EHF EURO and they helped us achieve fifth place, they are very important for us and we are happy they are here – but we’re not satisfied yet.”

“It’s important to have friends and family here,” said Bernhardtz, echoing her player’s thoughts. “Every time we have a championship we have a lot of Swedish fans with us - we are a team together and it feels great to have them here. 

“It was a dream to come to the world championship - and we have been to a few European championships and didn’t do so well at first, but last year when we got fifth place and the ticket to here we felt like we could maybe stay here - our goal is to be a very, very good team.”

After Sweden’s 2:1 (18:16) (13:16) (12:10 SO) win over Brazil, IHFtv spoke with Stelleck.

“We couldn't imagine coming here and after the first day beating both Russia and Brazil,” he said. “We're pretty excited about the future of this tournament - we know we're good, and we know we're underdogs, but we were realistic, and we were fighting to go through to the main round.

“We have a great spirit in the team and we believe in ourselves, so everything is possible for us.”