The Spanish men’s handball team has stumbled in the second match of the preliminary round of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games against a Sweden that knew how to embarrass the Spanish team with a great second half by those led by Glenn Solberg. The Spanish team fell by a score of 29-26 in what was a match defined by the differences created by the solid Swedish defense and the lack of Spanish concentration.
Spain showed its character in the first half, resisting the Swedish attacks, and not letting the team led by Jordi Ribera get away from the scoreboard, closing with a partial score of 11-11, which gave hope for the possibility of causing damage to a team that is a candidate for medals in this discipline.
Divided dominance in the first half
If Sweden came with the responsibility of dominating in the first half, they could only partially fulfill it. After a couple of changes of possession without scoring, the game became a give and take where a tie was the most frequent sight. After an effort that gave Sweden a partial of 4-0 in the 25th minute, the Hispanos entered a higher speed that allowed them to go to the break with a deserved 11-11.
If concentration and extra effort were the constant in the first 30 minutes, the Swedes doubled the dose in the half-time talk, the narrative changed and not for better views.
A defense to forget
The 30 minutes after the break are ones to watch again, just to learn exactly what not to do defensively with a team full of talent like Sweden. The first few minutes only indicated a slight advantage for the Swedish defence, but wherever blood is drawn, they attack. After a gradual separation in the score, the high point came in the 54th minute, a partial score of 25-20 confirmed the disaster.
The defence was a real sieve, and this, combined with the excellent defensive solidity, left little chance for a comeback that seemed unlikely. Spain was running out of physical strength, lacking concentration in quick breaks and lacking ideas to close the gap.
Spain managed to improve the result against a relaxed Sweden in the “garbage time”, the Hispanos will have to draw on their character to improve their image in the next matches in a difficult group. The next match will be against Japan, on July 31 at 2:00 p.m.
