Handball World Championship: Sweden too strong for Cameroon
In front of their home crowd in Gothenburg, Sweden delivered their fourth straight win at Denmark/Norway/Sweden 2023, as they proved too strong for Cameroon, taking a 37:13 win.
The Scandinavian side was seen as strong favourites heading into this game and they did not let their fans down, taking a commanding win and improved their chances to reach the quarter-final, boasting a six-points tally right now at the top of the standings.
The African side did not particularly impress at the previous stage, but a win against Paraguay saw them reaching the main round, which is already a historic achievement for this team. But it was difficult for Cameroon to fight against Sweden, who simply had more quality.
Sweden opened a 4:0 lead before Marie Nouba broke the deadlock for the Africans, converting a penalty after seven and a half minutes into the match. The Europeans went on to completely dominate, as Cameroon were restricted to just five goals and a 24% save rate in the first half.
In the second half, Sweden were far superior again, as their free-flowing attack tore Cameroon’s defence. Throughout the match, they scored 10 goals from fast breaks, and as Tomas Axner rotated his squad, with 11 of his players finding their names on the scoresheet, Nathalie Hagman was the top scorer, with eight goals from as many attempts.
Besides, the co-hosts once again demonstrated that solid goalkeeping is also one of their trump cards. With Johanna Bundsen completely rested and Evelina Eriksson left on the bench, the match was a chance for the IHF Women’s World Championship debutant Irma Schjött to prove her quality. She used it brilliantly, boasting 18 saves and a 58% save efficiency, and also scored twice.
Cameroon slightly improved in attack after the break, but the gap between the teams was too big, so the outcome was clear long before the whistle – and Sweden claimed their biggest win so far at the current IHF Women’s World Championship, 37:13.
