Sweden fell in the semi-final against France and now Spain awaits in the bronze medal match at 18:00 tonight.

- You feel exhausted and tired, but above all you are disappointed.

It was everyone's dream to be in an EC final.

Now it didn't turn out that way, but somewhere you know that we really still have something to play for, says Niclas Ekberg to SVT Sport the day after the semi-final loss.

Decided a year ago

The last time Sweden met Spain was in the EC final last year.

Then it was a Swedish victory and EC gold after Ekberg decided the match with a penalty goal at the final signal.

- Of course a memory for life.

Fantastically nice to be able to crown the European Championships in that way and shoot home a long-awaited gold for Sweden.

And now you can get the chance to shoot home a WC medal?

- Yes, and I will do that if I get the chance.

"Important to finish in the best way"

The right-hander emphasizes that the difference between a bronze and a fourth place is large.

- I hope we get the match where we want, a fast-paced handball match where we then get to stand on the podium and receive a bronze medal.

- We may never be the same gang again, so for each other it would be important to finish in the best way and really bring something home with us.

Andreas Palicka agrees.

- My God, we are playing for a WC bronze.

There were many dreams that were crushed yesterday but new dreams have been born today.

There is a huge difference between winning or losing a bronze match, he says.

CUT: Andreas Palicka after the loss: "Nobody gets to the maximum level"

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Andreas Palicka was disappointed after the semifinal loss.

Photo: Bildbyrån/SVT