PHOTO: Bildbyrån
The European Championship was a failure – but the veterans continue for another year to try to win the long-awaited championship medal.
Then perhaps new approaches are needed for the players to cope.
– It must be adapted from the association in view of the load, says Jamina Roberts.
After the loss against France, Sweden can at best finish fifth in the EC. The fact that the dream of a medal was crushed once again means that the 30-plus do not leave the national team. Because you want revenge.
– As long as the body feels good and it feels fun, and I still think it’s great fun, says Lynn Blohm about continuing to reach the medal goal.
– I still think we have a chance, there is potential in this national team that we didn’t get this championship. That’s where we want to be. Our dream is to win a medal, that dream lives on.
The Swedes’ demands
The goalkeeper Johanna Bundsen says she still has the motivation to drive and Nathalie Hagman says just like Jamina Roberts that she will also play handball next season and that there is therefore a good chance that she will also play in the WC next year.
– It is clear that there is a desire for revenge, Hagman says after the losing match against France, which meant that there will not be a semi-final game in the EC this year.
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Team captain Jamina Roberts has now played 18 championships and is thus equal Magnus Wislander who played the most championships for Sweden on the men’s side. She does not rule out a 19th, above all because the goal of a new medal, the first since European Championships 2014 (bronze) is still not met.
Future after the EC
But then it is required, she believes, that something be done about the burden on the players.
– We have had three tough championships in one year. Nowadays also have a lot of tough games every week and also play in the Champions League, so I think maybe we are more tired than we think, says Roberts.
– It is not unique to just us, but we are new to this, she says about the fact that the national team now goes far in championships, while many players have a high workload in the club team.
– Hopefully we can learn from it, maybe it has to be adapted from the confederation’s side in view of the load. We have a year to figure it out.
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The national team captain Tomas Axner does not want to talk about the future of the national team, but says:
– I have one year left in my contract and will do everything I can to move handball forward.
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Facts: Sweden in the EC
Sweden has one match left in the intermediate round, which will be played in Debrecen in Hungary, against Montenegro on Tuesday at 20:30.
Sweden must win against Montenegro by three goals to be third in the group after France and Hungary and thus get to play a match for place 5-6.
The winner of the match gets a direct place to the World Cup in the Netherlands and Germany in November-December next year if the Netherlands takes a place in the semi-finals. Otherwise, WC qualifiers await in March.
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