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Sweden ended a six-year wait for the IHF Junior World Championship title when they defeated Spain 28-23 at the Zetra Indoor Hall in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, yesterday. It was their third triumph, after successes in 2003 and 2007. |
At the other end, it was once again heartbreak for the Spaniards, who were runners-up on four previous occasions (’87, ’89, ’95 and ’01).
Sweden started the game at a blistering pace, racing to a 6-2 lead within five minutes.
The Spaniards found themselves on the back foot and their agitated coach Alberto Suarez Fernandez called for two time-outs in two minutes. But the side continued to leak goals.
Spanish captain Alex Dujhsebaev was a pale of shadow of himself in the first half and that affected the team’s rhythm.
The game often got rough and six yellow cards were dished out in the first half. Spain recovered from the initial fumble and ended the first half with just a two-goal deficit (12-10).
When the play resumed, tensions flared again as Spanish players twice hit Swedish goalkeeper Peter Johannesson’s face with the ball.
The Swedes kept increasing the lead and were up 16-12 by the 39th. Spain equalised for the first time in the 43rd through Victor Saez Lozano and Sweden coach Jan Karlsson immediately called for a time-out.
Sweden again went ahead by three goals (22-19), but suffered a huge setback when Anton Lindskog was given a red card in the 50th.
But the Spaniards failed to turn it into their advantage and fell behind by five goals (20-25).
A spirited performance by Johanesson, who was also chosen as the tournament’s best goalkeeper, ensured there was no fairytale comeback for Spain.
Albin Lagergen and Andreas Berg (both six goals) were Sweden’s top-scorers while Alex scored five times for Spain.
Earlier in the day, France beat Croatia 32-27 to finish third. IHF President Dr Hassan Moustafa and other top officials awarded the winners.