Tournaments
The first World Championship took place in Germany in 1938, involving four teams from Europe. Throughout their history, the World Championships has been dominated by European teams, any medals have yet to be won by non-Europeans.
Over the years, the organization of the World Championships has changed. Initially, there were group games in both the preliminary and main rounds, but more recently a knockout system has been applied after the preliminary round.
| Year | Host Country | Gold medal game | Bronze medal game | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gold | Score | Silver | Bronze | Score | Fourth place | ||||
| 1938 Details |
Germany |
Germany |
Round-robin | Austria |
Sweden |
Round-robin | Denmark |
||
| 1954 Details |
Sweden |
Sweden |
17–14 | West Germany |
Czechoslovakia |
24–11 | Switzerland |
||
| 1958 Details |
East Germany |
Sweden |
22–12 | Czechoslovakia |
Germany |
16–13 | Denmark |
||
| 1961 Details |
West Germany |
Romania |
9–8 after second extra time |
Czechoslovakia |
Sweden |
17–14 | Germany |
||
| 1964 Details |
Czechoslovakia |
Romania |
25–22 | Sweden |
Czechoslovakia |
22–15 | West Germany |
||
| 1967 Details |
Sweden |
Czechoslovakia |
14–11 | Denmark |
Romania |
21–19 after extra time |
Soviet Union |
||
| 1970 Details |
France |
Romania |
13–12 after second extra time |
East Germany |
Yugoslavia |
29–12 | Denmark |
||
| 1974 Details |
East Germany |
Romania |
14–12 | East Germany |
Yugoslavia |
18–16 | Poland |
||
| 1978 Details |
Denmark |
West Germany |
20–19 | Soviet Union |
East Germany |
19–15 | Denmark |
||
| 1982 Details |
West Germany |
Soviet Union |
30–27 after extra time |
Yugoslavia |
Poland |
23–22 | Denmark |
||
| 1986 Details |
Switzerland |
Yugoslavia |
24–22 | Hungary |
East Germany |
24–23 | Sweden |
||
| 1990 Details |
Czechoslovakia |
Sweden |
27–23 | Soviet Union |
Romania |
27–21 | Yugoslavia |
||
| 1993 Details |
Sweden |
Russia |
28–19 | France |
Sweden |
26–19 | Switzerland |
||
| 1995 Details |
Iceland |
France |
23–19 | Croatia |
Sweden |
26–20 | Germany |
||
| 1997 Details |
Japan |
Russia |
23–21 | Sweden |
France |
28–27 | Hungary |
||
| 1999 Details |
Egypt |
Sweden |
25–24 | Russia |
Yugoslavia |
27–24 | Spain |
||
| 2001 Details |
France |
France |
28–25 after extra time |
Sweden |
Yugoslavia |
27–17 | Egypt |
||
| 2003 Details |
Portugal |
Croatia |
34–31 | Germany |
France |
27–22 | Spain |
||
| 2005 Details |
Tunisia |
Spain |
40–34 | Croatia |
France |
26–25 | Tunisia |
||
| 2007 Details |
Germany |
Germany |
29–24 | Poland |
Denmark |
34–27 | France |
||
| 2009 Details |
Croatia |
France |
24–19 | Croatia |
Poland |
31–23 | Denmark |
||
| 2011 Details |
Sweden |
France |
37–35 after extra time |
Denmark |
Spain |
24–23 | Sweden |
||
| 2013 Details |
Spain |
||||||||
| 2015 Details |
Qatar |
||||||||
| 2017 Details |
France |
||||||||
1 Germany sent a united team composed of players from the GDR and the FRG.
- Egypt and Tunisia are the only non-European teams to reach the semi-finals, Egypt in 2001 and Tunisia in 2005. Both have placed 4th.
Read more about this topic: World Men's Handball Championship