He has chosen the latter alternative, the Scanian midfielder who was one of the players in the national handball team that on Tuesday met the media in Lille ahead of the Olympic Games quarterfinals against Denmark.
We love being in this situation and we have shown that we were close to beating Denmark in the European Championship in Hamburg in January (Swedish narrow defeat). So we know that we have the opportunity to win if we play a good match, says Gottfridsson.
Unbeaten
There have been some upsets during the Olympic group stage in Paris.
Sweden suffered two losses, against Germany and Slovenia, which for a while threatened to jeopardize the quarterfinal spot.
In the second group, the reigning Olympic and European champions France were in trouble, but managed to scrape through as group four without impressing the home crowd.
The Danes, on the other hand, have been the best of all. Five matches, five wins. And Jim Gottfridsson was one of several Swedish players who early on said that they would rather avoid Denmark already in the quarterfinals.
The question was which of the four opponents we wouldn't want to have. And we don't need to stand here and lie to you, you're not completely stupid.
So, it's clear that you don't want to have Denmark, but now it's Denmark. Why should we give up? If you look at our squad, it's still players who belong to the world's top elite and can perform at the highest level. Why shouldn't we be able to do it on Wednesday?
Form on the rise
"Gotte" also sees a rising Swedish form curve as a good sign ahead of the hot rivalry match between the Nordic handball giants.
In this championship, it's been like before – we start a bit slowly and then it goes up. It's almost what you expect from the Swedish national team when we play championships, says "Gotte".
09.30: Spain-Egypt
13.30: Germany-France
17.30: Denmark-Sweden
21.30: Norway-Slovenia
The handball knockout matches are played in Lille in northern France, at the multisport arena Stade Pierre Mauroy with a capacity of around 27,000 spectators. Earlier during the Olympic Games, the basketball group stage was decided there.
