Sweden end their Malmö campaign with a victory over Switzerland

EHF / Danijela Vekić

28 January 2026, 22:20

Sweden signed off from their home court at the Men's EHF EURO 2026 with a 34:21 victory over Switzerland, closing a roller-coaster main round campaign on a positive note in Malmö. With the semi-final dream already gone, the co-hosts still had enough impetus to deliver one final show for their fans before going to Herning for the 5/6 placement match, where they will clash with Portugal.

Switzerland, on the other hand, capped a strong tournament by matching their previous best-ever finish at the European Championship, securing 12th place.

GROUP II

SWITZERLAND vs SWEDEN 21:34 (12:14)

H2H: 1-0-8
Top scorers: Lenny Rubin 6/12 (SUI); Eric Johansson 7/9 (SWE)
Goalkeepers: Nikola Portner 8/30, Mathieu Seravalli 2/11 (SUI); Andreas Palicka 20/40 (SWE)
POTM presented by Grundfos: Andreas Palicka (SWE)

goalkeepers Nikola Portner and Andreas Palicka took the spotlight in the first half, keeping the teams in a tight contest
Switzerland were in front for 24 minutes, but then Sweden spurred a 6:0 run and left them goalless until the break
Lenny Rubin and Eric Johansson were leading their sides, netting almost half of their teams' goals — Johansson also produced Sweden's turnaround
a new Swiss dry spell between the 33rd and 43rd minute allowed Sweden to make a more significant break — the scoreline was at 22:14 after Andreas Palicka had just made his 16th save, while still having more than a 50 per cent rate
Palicka concluded the day with a total of 20 saves at 50 per cent efficiency
Sweden hit the double-digit lead in the 48th minute, courtesy of Sebastian Karlsson, and had all but assured victory — they celebrated a 13-goal win in the end

Ending on a high

Sweden entered the encounter knowing their semi-final hopes were already over and that their position in the 5/6 placement match was confirmed. Still, the co-hosts were determined to finish their Malmö journey on a positive note and give their home fans one last victory. After a sluggish start, Sweden gradually found their rhythm and pulled clear, closing their main round campaign with a win after a roller-coaster run that also included a heavy defeat to Iceland and a hard-fought draw with Hungary.

The EHF EURO 2022 champions and 2024 bronze medallists will now head to Herning aiming to finish the tournament on a high. It will be only the second time in their long European Championship history that Sweden play the fifth place match. The only previous occasion was in 2008, when they edged Norway 36:24 after overtime.

For Switzerland, the result sealed a 12th place finish — equalling their best-ever performance at the EHF EURO, previously achieved in 2004. After returning to the main round for the first time in over two decades, the Swiss produced a series of strong performances, including a draw with the Faroe Islands, a win over Montenegro and a defeat against Slovenia in the group phase, as well as hard-fought matches in the main round — draw against Hungary, defeat against Croatia and Sweden and a point against Iceland — underlining Andy Schmid's progress on the continental stage.

In the first 25 minutes we were perfectly in the game, because we were leading 12:8, and then we lose a little bit of control before half-time with some five-against-six situations. We missed some shots, and then in the second half we got outplayed, we have to be honest.

Andy Schmid

Head coach, Switzerland

I am proud of the team that we were able to play such a good game now. It was very tough in the locker room after Croatia won. I am proud that the team showed that it was important for us to play. It is a privilege to play for Sweden and I was not concerned with our group. Of course, it would have been another thing to play for a semi-final. As a group, we managed to play a good game.

Hampus Wanne

Left wing, Sweden