Ahead of EC Qualifiers against Great Britain – Swedish Basketball Association

Not too long ago, a qualifying group with Great Britain would be the prize from above for Sweden. Not so anymore. The British have a body that can almost be described as a golden generation, which has produced results in recent years.
In 2019 it was the semi-finals, and in 2023 they had to leave Eurobasket before the quarter-finals – but they still played well.

One of the best goalscorers in Europe

In England, the conversation begins and ends with Tommy Faulkbenle. In 2023, he finished fourth in Eurobasket's points standings. In 2019, he was number one.

Fagbenle has no weaknesses. She shoots three-pointers with ease, fights for rebounds, and when she gets rebounds close to the basket, she can use her length and agility to put the ball back. Even with a full Swedish squad, Fagbenle is a challenge, but without all the weapons it becomes an even tougher task.

Christine Anigwe, somewhat surprisingly, was absent from the 13-man squad coach Sema Busetta picked for the November window due to injury. Anigwe was the best rebounder in the entire tournament at EuroBasket 2023 and his absence should be a big relief for the blue and yellow.

“Group Final” in Premiere

In the latest edition of FIBA's power rankings, Great Britain is found in 10th place and Sweden in 11th place: most experts agree: it should be an even match between the two teams with a chance to take first place in Group D. .

Great Britain and Sweden are not major players. Speaking for the home team, it is partly true that they play at home, but in recent years they have always achieved better results, while Sweden failed to qualify for the last Euro basket. Sweden and Great Britain have met ten times before, and although most of those matches date back to the 20th century, Sweden have won all of them.

This is a new Great Britain, playing with great skill but with great confidence. For Sweden, this will be a crucial match for Sweden's chances of progressing from Group D as one of the top five in the group or one of the four best group twos.

Watch the match on SVT/SVTplay. Vomit at 8:30pm on Thursday.

Text: Johannes Grufstedt