Photo: Bildbyrån
Sweden suffered a surprising setback in the handball World Cup.
It was only a draw against Portugal in the main round, which made big star Jim Gottfridsson really roar.
– It makes me furious, he says to SVT Sport.
After a successful group stage, with easy victories against Japan and Chile and a draw against Spain, Sweden faced Portugal in the first match in the main round of the Handball World Cup. It was a match where many expected the blue and yellow to win.
Jim Gottfridsson was furious
Unexpectedly, it ended in a tie, 37-37. Sweden conceded the last goal with 43 seconds left. The goalkeepers did not have their best days, as the result testifies, but at the same time many chances were also missed. It was simply weak in several parts of the team.
– Up front it has come to a standstill, Sandell hasn’t had his match, completely missed open opportunities. Too many technical errors, which punish themselves in the form of Portuguese counterattacks, says the SVT expert and former national team player Mikaela Brass to the channel.
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The big star of the team Jim Gottfridsson32, was very unhappy after the point loss against Portugal. Above all, he was mad that Sweden threw away many balls that the opponents took advantage of and scored several goals.
– What bothers me the most is that we can’t keep throwing the ball away as if it were candy for toddlers. Then we might as well run up and put the ball on the short side and run home again. Every time we get a save we go up and give the ball away. It makes me furious, he says to SVT Sport.
Tough position for Sweden in the WC
It was the second match in a row that Sweden cruised in the championship. They simply had to settle for one point. They are second in the group, one point behind Portugal. The next match in the main round is against Brazil on Friday at 18:00. Then Norway awaits on Sunday at 20:30.
– I felt we had the match. Tactically, we score 37 goals, you can say what you want. Most of it goes home. But conceding 37 goals, of which eight-ten counter goals. We don’t need to make it more difficult than it is, says Gottfridsson.
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He actually had one last ball in the net at 37-37, but the goal was disallowed because time had expired. Gottfridsson got the ball with five seconds left in the game, but the attack did not have time to end before the final whistle sounded.
– I just tried to get the shot away as quickly as possible. One might think that we should have started faster, but at the same time they could have had the chance to score then.
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