Sweden Secures Main Round Spot with Dominant Handball Victory

GROUP E Georgia vs Sweden 29:38 (15:20) H2H: 0-0-2 Top scorers: Giorgi Tskhovrebadze 11/16 (GEO); Felix Claar 6/7, Nikola Roganović 6/9 (SWE) Goalkeeper saves: David Nikabadze 4/24, Zurab Tsintsadze 6/24 (GEO); Andreas Palicka 7/19, Mikael Appelgren 5/22 (SWE) POTM presented by Grundfos: Giorgi Tskhovrebadze (GEO) once again, Georgia had a dream start, this time against the co-hosts, and they were leading in the 13th minute by two, courtesy of Giorgi Tskhovrebadze — he scored eight times in 30 minutes Sweden managed to level with the help of Felix Claar, who once again proved to be crucial, netting five when the scoreline was at 8:8 the co-hosts showed better defence and finally lifted their foot off the break in the last five minutes, spurring to a 3:0 goal run to have a more tangible lead at half-time the largest lead Sweden held in 50 minutes was nine, when Nikola Roganović — playing his first major tournament with Sweden — scored for 32:23; even though Georgia narrowed it back to four, it was short lived — they hit a double-digit lead in the last minutes of the match just for Georgia to narrow it down to nine 12 out of 14 outfield players scored at least once for Sweden, with goalkeeper Andreas Palicka saving seven times at 36.84 per cent save efficiency Sweden make it through, Georgia shine bright Georgia are playing their second European Championship and have clearly shown progress since their debut at the EHF EURO 2024, but once again they were unable to match Sweden's level. Two years ago, Sweden recorded a record-tying 42:26 win, scoring 23 goals in the first half alone to Georgia's nine. While the margin was smaller this time, the outcome followed a similar pattern on Swedish soil. Sweden imposed their rhythm in the second half and maintained concentration throughout the 60 minutes, benefiting from effective rotation across the squad and balanced scoring, with Felix Claar and Nikola Roganović finishing as their top scorers, each netting six times. Georgia, however, demonstrated their development by keeping the scoreline closer than in previous meetings, limiting the damage and underlining the progress they have made since their first EHF EURO appearance.