The hyped Swedish handball team suffered a direct defeat in the OS premiere.
The question is what consequences the 27–30 loss to Germany will have.
Generally, it's pretty weak from us. It's tough right now, says Felix Claar.
It was messy, closed, technical mistakes, significantly worse attacking than defensive play from both sides.
Maybe also a bit of premiere nerves.
It wasn't until 9.03 that Daniel Pettersson managed to score the match's only third goal, for a Swedish lead.
But most of all, it was about two Andreas who stopped almost everything – goalkeepers Palicka and Wolff.
"Fantastic goalkeeper match"
When Palicka became a bit more human during a period, the German Wolff continued to shine. The 38-year-old Swedish veteran – well-known to the Parisians – is an absolute key player who must have a strong tournament for Swedish handball to get a chance to take its first, long-awaited OS gold.
With a few more sweaty saves from the Paris SG star, he ensured that the Germans only had 12–11 at halftime.
It's a fantastic goalkeeper match, says Jim Gottfridsson.
We should have taken advantage of Palicka's first half more than we did. At the same time, Wolff saved. The attacking play feels a bit cramped, we can't get past them in the one-on-one game, says Claar.
If it was a goal-scarce opening, the second half offered open goals from the start, with the Germans one step ahead. Palicka stepped off, Tobias Thulin stopped the Germans directly at 24–21.
Instead, Sebastian Karlsson countered at 23–22.
Marko Grgic and Christoph Steinert responded by giving the Germans a 25–22 lead, a three-goal advantage that was well-managed.
You should be a bit careful not to make a total analysis right after the match, but it's clear that we're not satisfied with what we're delivering. We're getting stuck too much in our attacking play. We're not getting the ball tempo we want and we're missing too much in the first, says Glenn Solberg.
Four out of six teams will advance from the group, but a group win is coveted to likely avoid favorites France and Denmark already in one of the quarterfinals in Lille.
In a new situation
A Swedish premiere loss in a championship start is rare.
It's a new situation for us, but we knew that Germany is a good team. It was two points we missed, but it's a new match in two days, says Gottfridsson.
He doesn't feel pressured.
No, we feel comfortable with the goals we've set. It's never been particularly brilliant from Swedish handball in the beginning of championships.
July 29: Spain (16.00)
July 31: Slovenia (16.00)
August 2: Croatia (14.00)
August 4: Japan (09.00)
The top four in the group will advance to the quarterfinals. In the other group (B), Denmark, Norway, Hungary, France, Egypt, and Argentina will play.
Quarterfinals, semifinals, and medal matches will be played in Lille on August 7, 9, and 11, respectively.
