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Men's EHF EURO 2022 Final Highlights Sweden v Spain
RECORD CHAMPION SWEDEN WINS EHF EURO TROPHY
EHF / Courtney Gahan
30 January 2022, 20:05
Sweden returned to the EHF EURO podium exactly 20 years after his team's last match lifted the trophy as they beat back-to-back 2018 and 2020 winners Spain 27-26 in a dramatic final at the Budapest Handball Arena on Sunday.

Spain have won every match against Sweden since 2009 and the Scandinavian side finally ended the streak after just 60 minutes when Niclas Ekberg scored the decisive goal from the penalty spot after the buzzer.

This is Sweden's fifth EHF Euro Championship - a continuation of their own record in the competition. Spain also extended their record for most EHF EURO silver medals, now five.

FINAL
Sweden vs. Spain 27:26 (12:13)

when the teams met in the 2018 final, Spain clearly won 29:23. They also took an overwhelming 32:28 win in the men's EHF EURO 2022 preliminary round. However, this was not the case in the 2022 final, as the match was even until the final buzzer - and Sweden secured the trophy. thanks to Ekberg scoring a late penalty
Spain took the lead for the first time in the last minute of the half, as Sweden held a solid 1-2 lead until then, thanks in large part to some excellent defensive work. the excellent Andreas Palicka
Sweden's defense forced Spain to favor wing kicks early on, and Angel Fernandez and Aleix Gómez did more than the job, scoring seven goals for their sides in the first half. Fernandez scored three of Spain's first five goals in the game
Palicka shot 43 percent in the final 10 minutes of the opening period, while Spain goaltender Rodrigo Corrales' first save lasted 12 minutes. Corrales was replaced by Gonzalo Perez de Vargas midway through the second half, but Palicka clearly won the battle between the posts with 11 saves and was awarded Grundfos' player of the match.
Spain temporarily opened up a two-goal lead. at the beginning of the second half, but after the 36th minute, 17:15, neither team had more than a one-goal lead, and it all came down to the closing minutes. Neither team could score after Joan Cañellas scored at 26-26 and Ekberg hit a free kick to become Sweden's hero
Sweden's fifth title - after a two-decade wait

Sweden last celebrated victory in 2002. EHF EURO Championship - and his last title in any major competition. The party never won the Olympics, but it won the world championship four times, although the last time was in 1999.

The people of Scandinavia therefore waited a very long time. In 2018, they had the chance to end their wait by returning to the EHF EURO finals, but Spain destroyed the dream. However, Sunday night in Budapest was a different story.

Sweden's recent dominance of the Euro Series began with their last two appearances in three sets, with the gap between them as far as they have now reached. They may be on the verge of another great dynasty as the "Boys from Benga" dominated the EHF Euros at the turn of the millennium.

As the great Jim Gottfridsson is only the third two-time EHF EURO MVP in history, "Gotte's Guys" might be a fitting nickname for this new generation.

Right now I can't believe we made history, but tomorrow when we are in Sweden and millions are celebrating us, we will recognize what we did today. This is what we fought for.
Niclas Ekberg
Right wing, Sweden
Respect from opponents is the most positive thing we can get. Of course we wanted to be in Sweden's shoes because you never know how many chances you have to win the final. We gave it our all and were competitive so I'm not that disappointed because we lost to a great team. It's dark today, but that's changing fast.
Rodrigo Corrales
Goalkeeper, Spain.

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