Glenn Solberg led Sweden to European Championship gold – decided with a penalty at the last second
The teams also met in the final in 2018, when Spain dominated in the second half and won 29-23. The Spaniards also won the European Championship in 2020 and went for a third straight final triumph in Budapest.
But in the final, the Swedes, led by their Norwegian coach Glenn Solberg, became too strong.
– In one year I have been in a European Championship final, hosted the Olympics and become European champion. It can not be described. I am incredibly proud and moved, saw a tearful Solberg to Viaplay after the gold was secured.
He especially boasts of the defensive game for the Swedish team after the required final victory.
– It was incredibly tough. We had trouble scoring, but we stood so well backwards. It has characterized us throughout the tournament. We can make a little mistake and we may have a little trouble going forward, but we stand so close and so good backwards.
Extremely even
The match was even from start to finish. Spain had a tight lead with 13-12 at the break, after a round where both teams did not score.
It became more targeted after the break. Sweden had the lead for several periods, but the lead was never very large. None of the final opponents have led anyone with more than to goal throughout the match.
Felix Claar got a questionable two minutes with eight minutes left to play at the position 24-23 to Sweden, but Spain failed to take advantage of the advantage. On two occasions, Spain lost the ball with one more man, and Sweden retained the one-goal lead until they were full.
The score was 26-26 when Sweden got seven meters and could decide the final at the last second. Niclas Ekberg did that and secured Sweden gold.
– At the end we have an ice cold Ekberg who puts the ball in goal on penalties. It’s totally sick. In ten years we have not won against Spain, but the last five minutes we are strong as f …, summed up goalkeeper Andreas Palicka.
Most winning
Sweden won the European Championship four times in five attempts between 1994 and 2002. Even before Sunday’s final victory, the success at the turn of the millennium had made Sweden the most winning national team of all time in the European Handball Championship.
After 2002, there have been no Swedish hosts near the gold outside the final in 2018. In the previous championship in 2020, which Sweden helped to arrange together with Norway and Austria, it was the exit after the intermission.
In this year’s European Championships, they managed to move on from the intermission with difficulty and hardly in the last match, thanks to a 24-23 victory over Norway after the Norwegian team led by up to six goals.
Norway beat Spain in the intermission, but ended up with a one-goal loss against the Swedes. A draw had held for the semi-final place.
Scandinavian medals
Earlier in the day, there was a bronze match between reigning world champion Denmark and Olympic champion France. The Danes had to do without the star player Mikkel Hansen, who injured his ankle during the semifinal against Spain.
Even without its player, Denmark managed to land the victory after extra innings. The score was 29-29 after regular time, but in the extra innings Denmark ensured a 35-32 victory.
Denmark thus has seven European Championship medals in total, while Sweden has six included on Sunday.
Norway only has one bronze medal from the European Championships in 2020. The next chance is in 2024, when the European Championships are held in Germany. Before that time, it is the World Cup in 2023, which Norway qualified for with fifth place in the European Championships.