The 47:19 win was a new record for the most goals scored in Sweden’s history at the EHF EURO and also their biggest-ever win at the final tournament.
Meanwhile Türkiye, co-hosts of the next Women’s EHF EURO, leave Hungary with a point from their second-round draw with North Macedonia and motivation to improve in two years’ time.
GROUP A
Türkiye vs Sweden 19:47 (12:25)
- the Swedes quickly stamped their authority in the first half as Tomas Axnér's players rushed into a huge lead and took a 13-goal advantage at the break
- Johanna Bundsen made 15 saves (55 per cent save efficiency) and was selected as the Player of the Match, presented by Grundfos
- Turkish goalkeeper Yagmur Bembeyaz received a direct disqualification in the 25th minute for making contact with her opponents outside her area
- Costica Buceschi even tried playing seven against six, but Sweden used that to up their advantage further in the second half
- Nathalie Hagman's seventh goal of the match was her 900th in the Swedish national team's shirt, while the right wing scored 11 overall, making her the match's top scorer without missing a single attempt
Sweden teach Türkiye a valuable lesson
Sweden are well-known and recognisable for their fast-paced style of play and it was no surprise to witness the fourth-ranked squad from the Paris 2024 Olympic Games to start the match on a high, but it was definitely a surprise to see Türkiye trying to replicate their approach.
The debutants tried to finish their attacks as quickly as possible but with Johanna Bundsen displaying an amazing performance, that opened acres of space for Sweden to exploit on the counter and they made full use of that to score many goals from clear one-on-one chances.
It is really difficult when you play against this kind of team. We worked on it, we did everything. We gave all our power but it wasn’t enough in the end, they are powerful, they have experience and it showed on the court unfortunately.
I don’t know if this game says that, but I think we need to step up in defence against better teams and really be tough and play hard, so that we get a lot of fast breaks.
