The second semi-final at the Men’s EHF EURO 2022 saw a very similar story to the first, with the victors having to stage a comeback in order to secure their place in the trophy match — and this time it was Sweden’s turn.
The Scandinavian side had a slower start and fell behind by a four-goal margin, before pulling off a rapid comeback to lead from late in the first half on. Although France came very close to equalising in the closing minutes, Sweden held them off and goalkeeper Andreas Palicka was the biggest hero with two saves against line player Ludovic Fabregas — one with 66 seconds to go and then another seven seconds from time.
With the win, Sweden secured their fifth EHF EURO final appearance, after their most recent in 2018.
SEMI-FINAL
Sweden vs France 33:34 (14:17)
- just as they did one year ago in the World Championship semi-final — which was their first win against France in the knockout stage of a tournament since the 1992 Olympic Games — Sweden took an incredible victory to book a final berth
- France powered to a clear early lead prompting the first timeout from Sweden coach Glenn Solberg after only five minutes, with the score at 5:1, at which point the Scandinavian side had managed only two shots on goal
- Sweden goalkeeper Andreas Palicka became the first goalkeeper in EHF EURO history to score three goals in one match — a feat he achieved by the 20-minute mark when he was also, remarkably, the top scorer of the match. Alongside his long-range goals, Palicka made 12 saves including two deciding stops against Ludovic Fabregas inside the last 66 seconds
- Sweden had the upper hand from the 22nd minute on, fighting back from a four-goal deficit to an advantage of three at the end of the first period for an impressive seven-goal turnaround in 20 minutes
- France had trouble defensively, with EHF EURO 2018 MVP Jim Gottfridsson masterminding Sweden’s attack and leading with nine goals and six assists, while France’s keepers combined for just four saves. Gottfridsson was named Grundfos Player of the Match
Sweden earn chance to extend record
With Sweden’s win, we are set for a rematch of the 2018 final on Sunday in Budapest, with the Scandinavian team taking on back-to-back champions Spain. When the two met four years ago in Zagreb, Spain won quite comfortably, 29:23, and the Scandinavian team will certainly hope to avenge that result.
If Sweden win the title, they will extend their own record for most trophies in the competition to five — although the last came in 2002.
The final qualification comes one year after Sweden returned to the World Championship trophy match for the first time since 2001, capping a remarkable 12 months for the side. They also narrowly missed the Tokyo 2020 semi-finals — and who knocked the Scandinavian side out in the quarter-final stage? None other than Spain, with a one-goal win.
