Wanne: Stay hungry and stick to the game plan

“Amazing atmosphere in there and against Denmark made it even more intense. A very fun game to play. But in the end we were disappointed with the results,” says Sweden left wing Hampus Wanne the day after the classic Scandinavian clash, as the team look ahead to the next game, against Portugal.

“I’m proud of the team. I believe we stood up really good against Denmark throughout the game, so now we just need to move on.”

Sweden have been part of the final at two of the last three editions of the EHF EURO, plus the 2021 IHF Men’s World Championship. In 2023 at the home World Championship they co-hosted with Poland, Sweden made it to the semi-finals, though they ultimately left empty-handed, ranking fourth.

Having been part of all those campaigns, Wanne knows a thing or two about how the team need to look forward following a defeat in a major tournament.

“This group has played a lot of tournaments together now, so now we will talk about the last time. We have training very soon and then from that moment on, it’s Portugal in the focus,” says Wanne, reflecting on what they have learned from the experiences of playing a championship successfully and how that can help them now.

“We learned that we need to stick to our game plan. And that you can only win something if you are a team. In handball today, you can’t do it by yourself. It’s impossible. I think you can see clearly that we switch a lot our players during the games. For me, that’s the big key, that especially the coach team have a lot of confidence in each and every player that’s here and everyone feels comfortable in their position.”

“Amazing atmosphere in there and against Denmark made it even more intense. A very fun game to play. But in the end we were disappointed with the results,” says Sweden left wing Hampus Wanne the day after the classic Scandinavian clash, as the team look ahead to the next game, against Portugal.

“I’m proud of the team. I believe we stood up really good against Denmark throughout the game, so now we just need to move on.”

Sweden have been part of the final at two of the last three editions of the EHF EURO, plus the 2021 IHF Men’s World Championship. In 2023 at the home World Championship they co-hosted with Poland, Sweden made it to the semi-finals, though they ultimately left empty-handed, ranking fourth. Having been part of all those campaigns, Wanne knows a thing or two about how the team need to look forward following a defeat in a major tournament.

“This group has played a lot of tournaments together now, so now we will talk about the last time. We have training very soon and then from that moment on, it’s Portugal in the focus,” says Wanne, reflecting on what they have learned from the experiences of playing a championship successfully and how that can help them now.

“We learned that we need to stick to our game plan. And that you can only win something if you are a team. In handball today, you can’t do it by yourself. It’s impossible. I think you can see clearly that we switch a lot our players during the games. For me, that’s the big key, that especially the coach team have a lot of confidence in each and every player that’s here and everyone feels comfortable in their position.”

After any match, win or loss, is the time for analysis of the performance to examine what can be improved. In the case of a game like the one against Denmark, where Sweden lost by one and nothing was sure until the buzzer, the situation is a little different compared to a clearer defeat. In a match as tight as that one, there might not be as much to look for in terms of what went wrong, as it can come down to such small details that luck or one outstanding action also play a role.

“It’s so often like this in the big games – it’s the small, small things that decide in the end. It can be a great save or whatever, so it feels a little bit like you hit the post out instead of in. But next time we play them, maybe it’s the other way around. That’s the feeling,” says Wanne.

That said, the closer, more challenging matches can also provide the greatest opportunities for a team to learn and see what they want to do better. Sweden have now had two at the EHF EURO 2024: the Friday clash versus Denmark and their last preliminary round game versus the Netherlands, which they won by one. Aside from those, Sweden’s wins have been more decisive, as they beat Bosnia and Herzegovina and Georgia with commanding differences in the preliminary round and took a six-goal victory over Slovenia in their main round opener.

“Especially the game against the Netherlands was really good for us. They were also great to play against,” says Wanne.

“You can see now that a lot of countries are becoming much better, which weren’t when I started my professional career. Like now, Portugal and Holland, that they can play on such a good level, shows that handball is really growing and it’s great. And of course, it’s important for us to have a really tough game before yesterday playing against Denmark here, so we can see more clearly what we need to work on.”

Although disappointed with the loss to the reigning world champions, Wanne feels Sweden are on track – at least in terms of their own approach, the feeling in the team and the motivation – to replicate their successes of recent years. He is cautious as naturally there are plenty of matches left to play for all teams in the main round and Sweden can only influence what is theirs to control.

“We take it step by step, as always. We haven’t changed so much. We played a lot of finals together and we won the last EURO, so we don’t need to reinvent the wheel,” says Wanne. “We need to change small, small things and still stay hungry. That’s really important.”

Sweden will play their next game on Sunday, meeting Portugal. Both teams have four points in their account and, aside from Denmark, are in the strongest position to reach the semi-finals of any in group I.

“It’s going to be tough because they play a different kind of handball. I always said I believe they have the best seven-against-six in the world,” says Wanne. “They became really good at it really early. But they’re really good with the ball. Very like, secure in themselves. Good line players. So, I think our key is going to be great defence and a lot of running.”

Photos © Kolektiff Images