Denmark Crowned World Champion in Egypt

By: Inas Mazhar

March 09, 2021

The Denmark national handball team was crowned the champion of the Egypt 2021 Men’s Handball World Championship for the second year in a row. Their maiden title was achieved in the 2019 edition, which saw the final taking place in Denmark.

The final game at the Cairo Stadium Indoor Complex was attended by Egyptian Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly, Minister of Youth and Sports Dr. Ashraf Sobhy, and President of the International Handball Federation Dr. Hassan Moustafa. Also attending were top officials of the state.

Egypt successfully produced a spectacular competition and earned praises from the International Handball Federation (IHF) president as well as from International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach and the participating teams who sang praises of the Egyptian government and the Local Organizing Committee for hosting and organizing a superb event. Hosting 32 teams alone was a great achievement for the Egyptians.

The previous 2019 edition saw Denmark and Germany co-host 24 teams, and the upcoming 2023 edition will see Sweden and Poland co-host 32 teams. But Egypt was brave enough to take on the challenge of hosting 32 teams alone and amid the Covid-19 pandemic. The 2021 edition was the second time for Egypt to host the World Championship, having hosted the 1999 edition, where the Egyptian team claimed the seventh place.

The two-week event, which was held in four different venues in three cities, saw the participation of 32 teams for the first time in the history of the event, playing 108 matches and scoring 5,863 goals.

Despite finishing in seventh place, Egypt improved their ranking among the world’s top ten teams. The Egyptians had made history by making it to the quarterfinals of the World Championship and were close to securing a semifinal berth but were denied the chance after losing to Denmark in an epic historic game in the quarterfinals that ended 39:38 after a dramatic game that needed penalties to be settled in the World Championship.

The superb performance and fighting spirit of the Pharaohs had the head of state, President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, congratulate the team for their wonderful display despite the narrow loss.

The president took to Twitter writing, “Greetings of pride and appreciation to our national handball team for the honorable performance against Denmark. The Egyptian players provided us with a great example of heroic performance and spirit of strength until the last moment of the match. Thank you.”

The final match of the 27th edition of the World Championship was a breath-taking battle, where the reigning champions beat neighbors Sweden 26:24 to claim the title for the second time in a row. It was a special night for Denmark, who celebrated their second world title in a row, becoming only the second team after France to successfully defend the IHF Men’s World Championship title in the last 47 years.

The win against Sweden was also Denmark’s 19th straight in the competition, breaking France’s record of 18 wins in a row, set between Qatar 2015 and Germany/Denmark 2019. Denmark’s team, led by coach Nikolaj Jacobsen, will thus be remembered in history as one of the most dominant in the sport, winning two titles in a row without even conceding a draw. The young Swedish side will have to wait at least two years for another gold medal chance but will have that opportunity on home soil as they will co-host the 28th IHF Men’s World Championship with Poland.

Throughout the tournament, the Danes scored an average of 35.25 goals per game, carrying momentum from their experience of winning the trophy two years ago, bringing back 11 players from their 2019 squad to Egypt 2021 and setting the biggest- ever winning streak in the history of the competition.

The bronze medal went to Spain, who managed to accomplish a 35:29 victory over France in the play- off for the third and fourth places. Meanwhile, after seven consecutive wins to start in the competition, France lost their last two games, to finish fourth, their worst placement since Spain 2013, when they ended in seventh place.

This was also the highest-scoring bronze medal game in history at the IHF Men’s World Championship, three goals more than at Germany 2007, when Denmark beat France 34:27 and at France 2007, when Slovenia won the medal against Croatia 31:30.

With the final match having ended in Denmark lifting the Egypt 2021 title, the final 32 team ranking for the 27th IHF World Men’s Handball has been confirmed as follows:

Denmark, Sweden, Spain, France, Hungary, Norway, Egypt, Qatar, Slovenia, Portugal, Argentina, Germany, Poland, Russian Handball Federation Team, Croatia, Switzerland, Belarus, Brazil, Japan, Iceland, Bahrain, Algeria, North Macedonia, Uruguay, Tunisia, Austria, Chile, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Morocco, Angola, South Korea, and Cape Verde.

According to the performance throughout the tournament, the Egypt 2021 All-star Team has been selected and featured players representing four national teams:

Most Valuable Player MVP: Mikkel Hansen, Denmark Left wing: Hampus Wanne, Sweden
Left back: Mikkel Hansen, Denmark
Centre back: Jim Gottfridsson, Sweden

Right back: Mathias Gidsel, Denmark Right wing: Ferran Sole Sala, Spain
Line player: Ludovic Fabregas, France Goalkeeper: Andreas Palicka, Sweden