The fifth-place match at EHF EURO 2026 in Herning, Denmark, which ended in heartbreak for Sweden as they conceded a goal in the final second to lose 36-35 to Portugal, was Palicka's last game in his 17-year career with the national team.
His last act as a Sweden player was to watch on from the sidelines as his teammate Mikael Appelgren failed to stop Martim Costa's buzzer-beater, but that moment will be quickly forgotten when reflecting on a career that has seen him win four major medals, including gold at EHF EURO 2022.
What will be remembered will be a catalogue of match-winning performances from a player who battled back from a plethora of injuries, including winning a race-against-time to be fit for this tournament.
His final match on home soil is one for the history books, too, as Palicka registered a 50% save rate and won the Player of the Match award as Sweden cruised to victory over Switzerland.
"To finish with a home championship in front of the home fans at the age of 39. If someone had told me that when I was a little boy, I wouldn't have believed it was possible," he told Swedish TV.
The Lund native made his Sweden debut in 2007 and played nearly 200 times in Swedish colours. He would surely have won many more caps had he not spent two years on the sidelines with a thigh problem early in his career.
"It is in adversity that my successes are born. I have found a lot of drive in my life in difficult moments and never gave up. I want to be remembered as someone who always did everything for the shirt and never gave up," he said of his determination to recover from injury setbacks.
Palicka played in two Olympics, six World Championships and six European Championships for Sweden. He will continue to play at club level for Kolstad in Norway, where he is under contract until 2027.
Follow Sunday's EHF EURO 2026 final between Denmark and Germany on Flashscore.