There was little question about who were going to be the winners in the match between Sweden and Poland, with the Scandinavian side taking a clear 28:18 win, their second in a row in the main round of the EHF EURO 2022.
Therefore, Poland are the first team eliminated from contention for a semi-finals berth. Patryk Rombel’s side are last in the group, with zero points while Sweden, who have four points, trail leaders Spain.
GROUP II
Poland vs Sweden 18:28 (6:14)
- with a meagre 43 per cent attacking efficiency and 12 turnovers in the first half, Poland had their worst ever attacking output in the 54 matches played at the EHF EURO, scoring only six times
- Poland scored only one goal in the last 18 minutes and 46 seconds of the first half, enabling Sweden to score an 8:1 run that became the building block of their win
- Sweden tied their largest ever win against Poland, set 55 years ago, when they took a 26:16 home win against their opponents from this evening
- Arkadiusz Moryto, Poland’s left wing who scored five times in the game, is now second in the top goal scorer standings, with 35 goals, one less than the Netherlands’ right back Kay Smits. Sweden’s left wing Hampus Wanne is third, with 32 goals
- Poland are the first team to be out of contention for a semi-finals berth, as they are still on zero points. As Sweden have four points and Spain six, it is mathematically impossible for Poland to leapfrog at least four opponents with two games to go
Sweden’s defensive nous helps them secure second win in a row
The two nations that will co-host the World Championship in January 2023 look to be heading into different directions. While Sweden are on the up and corrected some of their mistakes, Poland are in the process of breaking some records.
First, they conceded the largest number of goals in their history at the EHF EURO 2022 in the previous day, 42, against Norway. Now, they tied their worst attacking outing, 18 goals, set against Serbia in 2012.
It was another great defensive outing from Sweden, who have conceded an average of only 22.6 goals per game in the last three matches and now look like a force to be reckoned with.
It helped that Andreas Palicka (39 per cent saving efficiency against Russia) and his understudy, Tobias Thulin (40 per cent efficiency against Poland, named the Grundfos Player of the Match) are now getting hotter and hotter between the posts. Yet the toughest challenges are still ahead, with games against Germany and Norway following up.
