No losing in the Scandinavian classic
It’s down to the wire from now on at the European Handball Championship in Hungary and Slovakia. The German team does not play a role in this respect for well-known reasons, but otherwise it is the expected teams who will play out the places in the semifinals among themselves. Against this background, the Scandinavian classic between Sweden and Norway has become even more explosive.
The first look at the standings looks comfortable for the two neighbours from the far north. Norway leads the standings in the main round group two ahead of Sweden. However, the Spaniards in third place also have six points on their account, just like the two leaders. However, the European champions will almost certainly win against Poland on Tuesday and thus move up to one of the first two places.
So the Scandinavian duel is practically a quarter-final. In the event of a draw, the Norwegians would advance because they have the better goal difference. Otherwise, the winner of this match will advance to the semi-finals.
However, a close match is expected overall. One advantage is that the Scandinavians already know what will be enough in the end. The Spaniards play a few hours earlier. But we assume that the Swedes have to win in the evening to still stay in the tournament. In our opinion, you should be more successful with a bet on the Elks between Sweden and Norway.
Sweden – Statistics & current form
The runners-up are doing a decent job at the European Championships and have it in their own hands to make it to the semi-finals before the last main round match on Tuesday. However, the biggest challenge awaits them in the second group stage. After a manageable preliminary round, the Swedes have been gaining momentum and can definitely expect something against their neighbours from Norway.
Three wins in the main round
After the defeat against Spain and a poor draw against the Czech Republic, the Swedes almost went home after the preliminary round. Glen Solberg, a Norwegian citizen, drew the right conclusions, however, and adjusted his team better in the main round. The three main round matches resulted in three victories, although these were more in the category of compulsory victories.
The Swedes won against Poland, Russia and on Sunday also against the German team relatively well, even if the differences against the DHB men only became clear in the final phase. It is likely that Sunday’s performance will not be enough to bring the Elks from Norway to their knees. And that is why we continue to look more at the odds for a Norwegian success in the match between Sweden and Norway.
Nevertheless, coach Glen Solberg hopes that his team will once again show defensive stability. Also, could. Max Darj from Bergischer HC could play a role again after his infection, even if the tournament has shown that one should not expect miracles from the returnees. Certainly not included are Daniel Pettersson and Niclas Ekberg, who are both still in isolation.
The Sweden squad:
Goal: Johannesson, Palicka, Thulin
Back: Gottfridsson, Claar, Carlsbogard, Johansson, Wallinius, Lagergren, Sandell
Left wing: Mellegard, Wanne
Right wing: Ekberg, D. Pettersson
Circle: Darj, Möller, F. Pettersson, Bergendahl
Coach: Solberg
Last games of Sweden:
European Championships Main Round Grp. 2
01/23 2022 – Germany 21 – 25 Sweden
01/21 2022 – Poland 18 – 28 Sweden
01/20 2022 – Russia 23 – 29 Sweden
European Championships Preliminary Round Grp. E
01/17 2022 – Czech Republic 27 – 27 Sweden
01/15 2022 – Spain 32 – 28 Sweden
Norway – Statistics & current form
The Norwegians have always come close in recent years, but the Elks have never won a major title in men’s handball. It’s time they finally followed in the footsteps of the women, who have provided numerous Norwegian titles in recent years. First, however, they will have to overcome a very tough opponent on Tuesday
Four victories in a row
With a win, the Norwegians would be group winners and would most likely go the way of the world champions from Denmark for the time being. But Christian Berge won’t care how his team progresses, the main thing is to reach the semifinals and almost have a hand on a medal again.
In the main round, the Elks got better and better into the swing of things. The only surprise at the European Championship was the defeat against Russia in the preliminary round. In the meantime, however, they have won four games in a row and on Sunday they even managed to beat the European champions Spain 27:23 in a great game. If the Elks manage to perform as well on Tuesday, then there is no reason not to make a prediction on Norway winning the group before the clash between Sweden and Norway.
While further positive cases of infection were reported for the German team on Monday, the Norwegian bubble seems to be working perfectly. Not a single player has been infected during the entire European Championship. Because there are also no injuries, coach Christian Berge can send his best formation on the plate in this important neighbourly duel.
The squad of Norway:
Goal: Saeveras, Heieren, Bergerud
Backs: Eck Aga, Sagosen, Överjordet, O’Sullivan, Thorsteinsen Toft, Pettersen, Tönnesen, Reinkind, Rambo
Left wing: Barthold, Blonz
Right wing: Björnsen, Gulliksen
Circle: Överby, Gullerud, Solstad
Coach: Berge
Last matches played by Norway:
European Championships Main Round Grp. 2
01/23 2022 – Spain 23 – 27 Norway
01/21 2022 – Germany 23 – 28 Norway
01/20 2022 – Poland 31 – 42 Norway
European Championships Preliminary Round Grp. F
01/17 2022 – Lithuania 29 – 35 Norway
01/15 2022 – Norway 22 – 23 Russia
Sweden – Norway Direct comparison / H2H balance
Since 1999, the neighbours from Sweden and Norway have played a total of 19 duels. In the direct comparison, the Elks are ahead in this period and lead 11:7 after victories. Once there was only a draw in the last 20 years. Overall, however, the Norwegians have done much better in recent encounters.
In the last seven games, there have been six Norwegian wins and one draw. That makes the Elks favourites in Bratislava on Tuesday as well. The last encounter was a friendly match in the summer of last year. In the end, the score was 26:26. Sweden’s last win came in January 2017 in a test match ahead of the World Cup in France.
Sweden – Norway tip
Sweden have not been completely convincing at the European Championship so far. The teams they had to beat were also defeated in the end, except for the unexpected 33:33 against the Czech Republic. However, the runners-up did not appear as a title candidate. There was also a defeat against the only opponent of world class level, namely European champions Spain.
The Norwegians unexpectedly lost to Russia, but have now won four in a row and also beat the Spaniards. In addition, the Elks are lucky to have been able to play through the entire tournament without any retirements.
The direct comparison shows us that we should be relatively well off with this assumption, because the Swedes have found it extremely difficult against the Elks in recent years. In the last seven direct duels, there have been six victories for the Norwegians and only one draw. That’s why we have decided to play the odds on a success for the Elks in the neighbourly duel Sweden vs Norway.
