Since Tomas Axnér and Johanna Wiberg took over the Swedish women’s national handball team two years ago, they have placed great emphasis on developing the team’s physique and transitional play. Among other things, it led to a nice fourth place at the 2021 Olympics and a fifth at the World Championships that same year.
But to take the next step and seriously fight for medals, one detail needs to be improved above all: the setting of the offensive game. Something that Axnér and Wiberg made sure to present ahead of the EC, which starts on Friday.
The EC against Serbia is underway
– That part in particular is something concrete that we need to refine for the championship. When we face a defensive game that is very low to us and embraces our central six, there we have to find different solutions. Both for shooting and for different solutions to find our six central, says Johanna Wiberg, deputy captain of the national team.
Sweden opens the EC against Serbia on 11/4 and then meets Slovenia, Slovenia on 11/6 and Denmark on 11/8. In a possible main round, where two places are up for grabs for the semi-final, teams like Norway and Hungary are probably waiting.
– There will be tough matches, but I think the key is that we have a little more variety and opportunity in our attacking game, says Axnér.
The firepower was lacking
Axnér thinks Sweden have good breakthrough players at nine meters, but previously lacked wide shooting power. But this is something that is in the squad of the EC this year, says the captain of the national team.
– We played a game in which we were very direct. And the players who can dissolve a low defense, who close the possibility of a breakthrough, are after all dangerous players in the air, he says.
– And there I think we have varieties with Melissa (Petrén), Kristin (Thorleifsdóttir) and Tyra (Axnér). Players who make it very difficult for the defenses to stand up on us, which we noticed after the Olympics we took a look at a bit. I want to have as many different small knives, scissors and nail tips as possible on the same knife. We need to have a broad understanding of the squad.
The last time that Swedish women’s handball won a medal in a championship was the EC bronze in 2014.
