Even before the duel with Norway, Sweden was in the semi-finals of the European Championship. The fact that the European champions went down like this still came as a surprise.
Abrasion for the defending champions from Sweden. Later on Tuesday evening, Norway, who had already been eliminated, defeated European champions Sweden 33:23 (15:12). However, Sweden was already assured of second place and thus the semi-final duel with France before the game. Coach Glenn Solberg therefore took the opportunity to let numerous regular players such as top scorers Jim Gottfridsson and Hampus Wanne take a breather.
Potential German opponents in the semi-finals have been determined
The Netherlands had previously scored their first point at the end of the main round. Oranje defeated the favored Portuguese 33:33 (17:15). Both teams had no chance of advancing before the game. For the Netherlands, Rutger ten Velde from the German second division club TuS N-Lübbecke scored each of his seven attempts. The best throwers for Portugal were Martim Costa and Luis Frade with eight hits each.
Before the last main round games on Wednesday, the first semi-final has now been determined. On Friday at 5:45 p.m. the French will meet as winners of Group I and defending champions Sweden will meet as runners-up in Group II.
And Denmark has already been confirmed as a semi-finalist for the European Championships. The Scandinavians will play their semi-final against the runners-up in Group I. The possible opponent of the top favorite is the German team, which can secure second place behind Olympic champion France with a win against Croatia on Wednesday (8:30 p.m., in the live ticker on t-online) in Cologne.