– It was an incredibly good effort against a difficult Slovenia, incredible defensive effort, the working conditions are very good for me. They toiled like animals. We stopped them completely, says Palicka.
Viaplay: What about the big toe?
– No, it’s quite good, Palicka says without wanting to elaborate.
The goalkeeper had 50 percent in saves.
– We made a great effort and Palicka was fantastic at the back. This victory was at least as important as the ones against Georgia and Bosnia, says Sebastian Karlsson in Viaplay.
“Saving like crazy”
The European Handball Federation wrote on its live blog: “Palicka saves Sweden like a madman”. Palicka was above everything when Sweden turned a threatening 2-4 at the start of the match. Already at the break, Sweden led 11-7 and it felt stable even there.
When Palicka got into trouble with 13 minutes left, Tobias Thulin was called into the goal. Palicka had an ice pack over his left big toe as he sat on the bench but appeared to be in good spirits.
– He played a fantastic match, it was great to see and he has a fantastic attitude and it’s so nice to have him in my team, says national team captain Glenn Solberg about Palicka.
Sweden has three matches left in the main round and is well on its way to a semi-final after good victories in the play-offs.