Sweden ready for Poland 2016, Iceland edge closer
At Latvia, Sweden left no doubt about their qualification for the Men’s EHF EURO 2016 in Poland: Thanks to a 33:14 win the team of Staffan Olsson and Ola Lindgren clinched their berth at the final tournament.
Also on Wednesday night Iceland recorded a deserved win at Israel.
Group 3: Latvia vs. Sweden 14:33 (8:16)
Scoring only eight goals before the break was the beginning of the end for Latvia, while Sweden booked their tickets to Poland 2016.
Like in first leg, which they had lost 23:33, Latvia once more were without a chance against the Scandinavians.
Sweden were in full control from the beginning of the match, as they played the classical Scandinavian way with a rock-solid defence and high-speed counter attacks.
Right after the break the gap between the two teams was double-figured at 18:8, and at the end of the game all Swedish attacking players found their name on the scorers' list, led by Mattias Zachrisson with five goals.
Latvia at some point had resigned to their fate and as Sweden kept scoring, there were 19 goals that eventually separated the two teams.
Group 4: Israel vs. Iceland 24:34 (12:17)
Iceland have made a huge step towards the final tournament with their clear win at Tel Aviv, but they still have not passed the gate to Poland 2016.
The final decision will be made in Reykjavik on Sunday, when they face Montenegro. Israel remain on the bottom of Group 4 with zero points.
All Icelandic field players, who took to the court hit the back of the net in this clear win, led by Stefan Rafn Sigurmansson who scored six times from six attempts.
Until the 23rd minute when the score stood at 10:12, Israel were close but then Iceland improved their defence and forged ahead to a five-goal gap at the break.
At the latest in the 45th minute when the first double-figured distance was reached at 25:15, the Israeli resistance had been broken.
Levy and Gal were the hosts' top scorers with five goals each.
TEXT:
Björn Pazen / ts