PHOTO: Bildbyrån
He came in and got Sweden up to speed in a pressure situation. In the end, Felix Claar also got to be the hero of the match against the Netherlands.
– Felix was world class today, says Jim Gottfridsson.
Jim Gottfridsson got to start as usual, but was not quite the same and was replaced after just over ten minutes in the EC meeting with the Netherlands.
Into the field came instead Felix Claar – and Sweden came into the match having at most been behind by three goals.
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When everything was to be decided in the end, Claar was also in one of the key roles when he scored the winning goal, 29–28, in the drama in Mannheim.
– It was tight at the end and we believe in it all the way. And then Palicka makes a free-kick save there and we get the chance to take the lead – and we take it, says Claar.
Happy after victory
He is not a man of big words, but was satisfied with his performance as a middle nine. Claar has been one of the Bundesliga’s best players in Magdeburg this autumn and showed his class now too.
– I got to play a lot and it feels like they have a lot of distance between them in defense, so it suits me to go to a lot of “man against man” duels. I had to fight a bit more in the second half, so I’m glad I got that last one.
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Sweden was really bad and well on its way to going to the intermediate round in Hamburg with zero points. But the team that took European Championship gold after three straight odd-goal victories two years ago rose up now too, when it was needed most.
– The more wins like this you get, the more secure you become in the end, says the 27-year-old Östgöten.
Slovenia is waiting
The national handball team still has a lot to improve in their game if they are to have a chance to repeat the golden success from Budapest in 2022. But that task is at least a little easier now, when they have two points with them to the intermediate round.
– If you want to reach a semi, you should almost have two points with you going into an intermediate round, says Claar.
READ MORE: Andreas Palicka takes his place among the legends in the handball EC: “How cool – I’m proud”
In the next game, on Wednesday, awaits Slovenia who also won their group after finishing with a 28-27 victory against Norway. Sweden also meets Denmark, Portugal and Norway in the intermediate round. The top two move on to the semi-finals.
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