Finland needs an off-the-charts performance to challenge Serbia. The physical game is once again the Achilles’ heel, says national team captain Ola Lindgren ahead of the EC qualifiers.
When Ola Lindgren is to give a status report ahead of tonight’s EC qualifiers in handball, there are familiar tones: injuries, injuries, injuries.
This time Robin Granlund (fractured foot), Fredrik Karlsson (shoulder), Edward Hammarberg (back thigh) and Anthony Hellakoski (knee) are missing.
– We have many young people with us and it is positive that they get to test their wings for the future.
Hellakoski was injured badly recently in Grankulla IFK’s semi-final series against BK-46. In the Karislaget, in turn, there are the playoff’s two best scorers in Nico Rönnberg and Sebastian Säkkinen, but neither of them is in the national team.
– Nico has said that he does not want to play. We keep the door open and have a dialogue with him, but it’s up to him.
– We have rotated a bit between Säkkinen and Roni Syrjälä on the one wing position. This time we took out Roni. There we have also given the chance to Fredrik von Troil.
Defensive problems
Finland must make the impossible possible in order to pick up points in one of the two qualifying matches that remain. Serbia and Norway are two seasoned playoff travelers and beat Finland big in the first game last fall.
Serbia comes to Vantaa with players from the big leagues in Europe and also has physical size to throw against the young Finnish players.
– The big problem for us is often that we are not good enough in terms of physicality and mobility in defense. We have conceded a lot of goals in set play. For our boys, it is a big step to meet these national teams and we need these matches to see the differences, says Lindgren.
The big problem for us is often that we don’t have enough physicality and mobility in defense
He admits that it is not realistic to talk about points in the last two qualifying matches. Instead, Finland directs a greater focus on the performance itself.
– In the away match against Serbia, we were cautious and had too much respect. We made a lot of technical mistakes in the beginning and that led to it being almost over after a quarter of an hour. We need a good start to gain some confidence.
Who is the most interesting in Serbia?
Serbia has played in many handball playoffs since the turn of the millennium, but the last medal came in the home EC eleven years ago.
After the European Championship silver, the Serbs have been stuck in the first group stage in four out of five European Championships – including the most recent European Championship in 2022. In the World Cup last winter, the Serbians advanced to the main round, but the team missed out on advancing to the quarter-finals.
Lazar Kukic is difficult to stop for Finland’s defense.
Bild: IMAGO/Newspix/ All Over Press
Lazar Kukić, Serbia’s men’s national handball team
In the Catalan national team captain Antonio Gerona’s squad, there are players from, among other things, the German Bundesliga, the Hungarian big club Veszprém and the French league.
Lindgren still highlights Lazar Kukic from the Romanian giant Dinamo Bucharest as Serbia’s most interesting player.
– He is a very fun and attractive player to keep an eye on. He plays middle nine in Bucharest and is a modern, fast player with a good understanding of the game.
The European Championship qualifier between Finland and Serbia starts at 19.00 and is broadcast on The arena.
European Championship qualification in handball
Matches played:
Serbia–Finland 34–24
Finland–Norway 22–35
Finland–Slovakia 30–27
Slovakia–Finland 32–25
Upcoming matches:
April 27: Finland–Serbia
30 April: Norway–Finland
Serbia and Norway are on six points after four games. Slovakia and Finland have two points, but Finland is last due to a lower goal difference in the meetings with Slovakia.
First and second in the qualifying group go to the EC playoffs next year. The four best threes from the eight qualifying groups also go to the EC.
