Sweden give France a real scare but close group stage with four-set defeat

[p]Three wins and two losses for [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/sweden/nuDXN7Ba/"]Sweden[/a] meant they finished behind [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/italy/WOxNzHzR/"]Italy[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/france/WSCmiNN9/"]France[/a] in the group and will now travel to face another of the co-hosts in the Round of 16, as they meet [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/czech-republic/8dhw5vxS/"]Czech Republic[/a] in Brno on either 30th or 31st August.[/p][p]Coming from two sets down to beat [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/croatia/QmVQ5KML/"]Croatia[/a] last time out had assured the Swedes of a place in the knockout stage, while France came into this having lost their unbeaten run to Italy.[/p][p]Sweden's chance of causing an upset seemed to have come and gone when they levelled the first set at 24-24, only for France to get over the line and win 28-26. However,[b] the home side dominated the second set, building a healthy lead before finishing with a 7-1 run to win 25-13.[/b] [/p][p]But France, whose best finish at the European championship was sixth in 2023, responded well and took a six-point lead in the third set before maintaining a healthy advantage and going ahead again in the match with a 25-20 success.[/p][embed guid="2de87f18-2683-4c57-8322-00e8efec9360" url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxwD1QaT94M" social-type="youtube" /][p]Roared on by the home crowd for the final time, Sweden came from behind in the fourth set as they looked to secure a third five-set win of the tournament. The lead changed hands several times, but [b]it was Sweden who missed the chance when 24-23 up, and France got themselves in front again and secured another 28-26 set win to take [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/volleyball/france-WSCmiNN9/sweden-nuDXN7Ba/?mid=84dS5xs1"]the match, 3-1[/a].[/b][/p][p]France will also head to Brno for their first knockout match, as they take on [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/greece/Ei2hjswG/"]Greece[/a]. All four host nations - Sweden, Czech Republic, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/azerbaijan/vTWd6th9/"]Azerbaijan[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/turkey/QZT8lL7S/"]Turkey[/a] - have made it through the Group Stage.[/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/volleyball/europe/european-championships-women/"]Review the standings after the Group Stage on Flashscore.[/a][/b][/p]