Sweden convince against Georgia to reach main round

EHF / Danijela Vekić

19 January 2026, 22:35

Just like two years ago in Mannheim, there was little doubt about the outcome of the match between co-hosts Sweden and Georgia. Despite Georgia's fighting spirit and a solid opening spell, Sweden were in control, gradually building their lead to secure a convincing 38:29 victory at the Men's EHF EURO 2026.

With Felix Claar and Nikola Roganović scoring six goals each, the co-hosts sealed their place in the main round with one match to spare, taking Croatia with them.

GROUP E

Georgia vs Sweden 29:38 (15:20)

H2H: 0-0-2
Top scorers: Giorgi Tskhovrebadze 11/16 (GEO); Felix Claar 6/7, Nikola Roganović 6/9 (SWE)
Goalkeeper saves: David Nikabadze 4/24, Zurab Tsintsadze 6/24 (GEO); Andreas Palicka 7/19, Mikael Appelgren 5/22 (SWE)
POTM presented by Grundfos: Giorgi Tskhovrebadze (GEO)

once again, Georgia had a dream start, this time against the co-hosts, and they were leading in the 13th minute by two, courtesy of Giorgi Tskhovrebadze — he scored eight times in 30 minutes
Sweden managed to level with the help of Felix Claar, who once again proved to be crucial, netting five when the scoreline was at 8:8
the co-hosts showed better defence and finally lifted their foot off the break in the last five minutes, spurring to a 3:0 goal run to have a more tangible lead at half-time
the largest lead Sweden held in 50 minutes was nine, when Nikola Roganović — playing his first major tournament with Sweden — scored for 32:23; even though Georgia narrowed it back to four, it was short lived — they hit a double-digit lead in the last minutes of the match just for Georgia to narrow it down to nine
12 out of 14 outfield players scored at least once for Sweden, with goalkeeper Andreas Palicka saving seven times at 36.84 per cent save efficiency

Sweden make it through, Georgia shine bright

Georgia are playing their second European Championship and have clearly shown progress since their debut at the EHF EURO 2024, but once again they were unable to match Sweden's level. Two years ago, Sweden recorded a record-tying 42:26 win, scoring 23 goals in the first half alone to Georgia's nine. While the margin was smaller this time, the outcome followed a similar pattern on Swedish soil.

Sweden imposed their rhythm in the second half and maintained concentration throughout the 60 minutes, benefiting from effective rotation across the squad and balanced scoring, with Felix Claar and Nikola Roganović finishing as their top scorers, each netting six times. Georgia, however, demonstrated their development by keeping the scoreline closer than in previous meetings, limiting the damage and underlining the progress they have made since their first EHF EURO appearance.

I think in today’s match we missed this fighting spirit that we had before. I think it is because we were a bit more tired. We really wanted to show our fighting spirit but today it was unfortunate that we didn’t show it 100 per cent. Sweden had two great goalkeepers. We couldn’t find the keys to face them correctly and we missed really open chances against them. We didn’t give our best today.

Tite Kalandadze

Head coach, Georgia

We knew that we had it in us right now. We have built up some stability and comfort in the team, so I think everyone looks in harmony, and that’s nice.

Andreas Palicka

Goalkeeper, Sweden