The 2021 International Handball Federation (IHF) World Men’s Handball Championship in Egypt marked the 27th edition of the tournament. Thirty-two nations participated in the eight-group preliminary round, with the top three teams from each group advancing to the main round. The top eight teams from the main round advanced to the playoffs. Denmark advanced past host Egypt in penalties in the quarter-final and rode that momentum to capture a second consecutive championship with a 26-24 victory over Sweden in the final.
The tournament ran from January 13 to 31 and was played without fans due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. It was the third IHF World Championship held in Africa; most of the tournaments have taken place in Europe. With its gold medal victory, Denmark is now one of six nations to win multiple gold medals at the IHF World Men’s Handball Championship. The following is a look at the four most accomplished countries in handball.
- France
France didn’t win a single medal at the IHF World Men’s Handball Championship until 1993, when it finished runner-up to Russia, but is now the most accomplished nation with six gold, one silver, and four bronze medals. France won its first gold medal in 1995 following a four-goal victory over Croatia in the final. It won again in 2001, 2009, 2011, 2015, and 2017. Prior to the 2021 tournament in Egypt, France had medaled in 11 of the past 14 IHF World Men’s Handball Championships.
Led by coach Daniel Costantini, France defeated Spain, Switzerland, and Germany in the playoff round in 1995 en route to its gold medal match with Croatia. Stéphane Stoecklin scored 48 goals in that tournament, including seven in the final, to lead the team in scoring. France won its second gold medal in 2001, when, as host nation, it defeated Sweden 28-25 in the final. This marked the first time a host country won the tournament since Sweden in 1954.
France failed to keep pace with Sweden, which has 12 medals, at the 2021 IHF World Men’s Handball Championship. It lost to Spain, 35-29, in the bronze medal match, and Sweden picked up a silver medal.
- Sweden
While Sweden won a record-setting 12th medal at the most recent IHF World Men’s Handball Championship, it only has four gold medals compared to France’s six. The Scandinavian nation won its first gold as host of the 1954 event and won again four years later following a 22-12 final victory over Czechoslovakia. It captured its third gold medal with a 27-23 final victory over the Soviet Union in 1990 and won its most recent gold medal at the 1999 tournament. Sweden also has four silver and four bronze medals.
Despite its handball success, Sweden didn’t win a single medal at the event from 2003 to 2019. The country didn’t even reach the final in any of the nine tournaments during this time and only once made the bronze medal game (2011) but suffered a 24-23 loss to Spain. Before 2003, however, Sweden reached the medal round in seven consecutive tournaments. This is an IHF World Men’s Handball Championship record that still stands as of 2021.
- Romania
Romania hasn’t won a medal or even participated in a third-place match since it won bronze with a 27-21 victory over Yugoslavia in 1990, but it is still among the world’s most accomplished handball nations, at least from a historical perspective. Romania was a powerhouse during the 1960s and 1970s and won four of five IHF World Men’s Handball Championships from 1961 to 1974. It won bronze in 1967 with a 21-19 victory over the Soviet Union.
The Eastern European nation hasn’t invested as heavily in sports in recent decades, which is seen as a key factor in its demise as a dominant handball nation. In 2020 prominent Romanian athletes Simona Halep, Nadia Comaneci, and Alina Dumitru spoke before the Romanian Senate, calling upon the government to allocate at least 1 percent of the GDP to sports.
- Denmark
Denmark earned its place on this list with back-to-back gold medal victories in 2021 and 2019. It now has two gold, three silver, and one bronze for six total medals. Germany, Croatia, and Czechoslovakia have all won five medals. Denmark finished as runner-up in 2011 and 2013 to France and Spain, respectively, and also won silver in 1967. It won its lone bronze medal with a 34-27 victory over France in 2007.
Mikkel Hansen and goalkeeper Niklas Landin played significant roles in Denmark’s 2021 championship. Hansen scored seven of the team’s 26 goals in the final against Sweden, while Landin, the team’s captain, made 15 saves. He made a flurry of important saves midway through the second half with Denmark trailing 19-18. His team responded by going on a 5-1 run to take a 23-20 lead and ultimately hung on for victory. Hansen was named MVP of the tournament for the third time.