Swedish Women's Handball Team Suffers Heavy Defeat to Norway at 2025 World Championship

The Swedish women's handball team faced a crushing 39-26 defeat to Norway at the 2025 World Championship, a loss that sharply jeopardizes their chances of progressing beyond the group stage. Taking place during a tournament co-hosted by Germany and the Netherlands, the match exposed significant defensive shortcomings and tactical missteps by Sweden.

Early in the game, Norway took a commanding lead, with a score of 12-6 by the 15-minute mark, and dominated to lead 24-11 at halftime. Sweden's goalkeeper strategy, aimed at leveraging Filippa Idéhn to disrupt Norway’s offense, failed as Norway’s goalkeeper Katrine Lunde effectively saved nearly half of Swedish shots during the first half.

The heavy loss was described as embarrassing for Sweden by player Linn Blohm, who lamented, “We were embarrassingly bad. Nothing worked.” Emma Lindqvist echoed this sentiment, criticizing the team's weak defensive performance and emphasizing the need to restore pride.

Expert commentator Claes Hellgren described the game as one of Sweden's worst performances in recent years, emphasizing Norway's dominance and the impact on Sweden's tournament standing. Tomas Axnér, Sweden’s head coach, faced questions about his tactical choices, particularly his focus on strategy instead of addressing fundamental team weaknesses during the match.

Sweden, which had earlier secured wins against the Czech Republic and Cuba but lost to Brazil, now faces a steep challenge to advance. They need to win their remaining matches against South Korea and Angola and rely on other results, including Brazil losing to Angola, to keep hopes alive. The large margin of defeat has also negatively affected Sweden's goal difference, a critical factor in qualification.

The expanded format of the World Championship has drawn criticism for including teams with wide performance gaps, leading to unbalanced matches such as this one. Despite the setback, Sweden prepares for their next game on December 5 against South Korea, with the team under pressure to improve rapidly if they hope to continue in the tournament.