Sweden men's national handball team facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Sweden
Information
Association	Swedish Handball Association (Svenska Handbollförbundet)
Coach	Michael Apelgren
Assistant coach	Michael Apelgren
Captain	Andreas Palicka
Most caps	Magnus Wislander (386)
Most goals	Magnus Wislander (1191)
Colours
1st 2nd 3rd
Results
Summer Olympics
Appearances	10 (First in 1972)
Best result	2nd (1992, 1996, 2000, 2012)
World Championship
Appearances	26 (First in 1938)
Best result	1st (1954, 1958, 1990, 1999)
European Championship
Appearances	15 (First in 1994)
Best result	1st (1994, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2022)
Last updated on Unknown.

The Sweden men's national handball team is Sweden's official team for men's handball. It is managed by the Swedish Handball Association. This team is famous for its long history of success in international competitions.

The team had amazing periods under coaches Curt Wadmark (1948–1967) and Bengt Johansson (1988–2004). The team led by Bengt Johansson was even nicknamed Bengan Boys in Sweden. They are seen as one of the best national teams ever in handball.

Famous players from the Bengan Boys era include Tomas Svensson, Staffan Olsson, Magnus Wislander, and Stefan Lövgren. From 1990 to 2002, this team reached the medal rounds in every major championship. They won 13 medals in total! They even made it to a record 8 championship finals in a row from 1996 to 2002.

Sweden is the most successful country at the European Men's Handball Championship with 5 titles. They also have the most medals in the history of the World Men's Handball Championship, with 12 medals. This record is shared with France. Even though they have been in 4 finals, Sweden has not yet won an Olympic title.

Sweden's Handball Achievements

This section shows all the medals the Swedish men's handball team has won.

Competition				Total
Olympic Games	0	4	0	4
World Championship	4	4	4	12
European Championship	5	1	1	7
Total	9	9	5	23

Playing in Big Tournaments

This part shows how the Swedish team has done in major handball tournaments over the years.

     Champions       Runners-up       Third place       Fourth place  

Olympic Games Performances

The Olympic Games are a huge event for handball. Sweden has won four silver medals here!

Games	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
1936 Berlin	Did not enter
Handball was not held from 1948 to 1968
1972 Munich	Match for 7th place	7th of 16	6	2	2	2	82	87	−5
1976 Montreal	Did not qualify
1980 Moscow
1984 Los Angeles	Match for 5th place	5th of 12	6	4	0	2	145	134	+11
1988 Seoul	Match for 5th place	5th of 12	6	4	0	2	133	109	+24
1992 Barcelona	Runners-up	2nd of 12	7	6	0	1	165	130	+35
1996 Atlanta	Runners-up	2nd of 12	7	6	0	1	182	141	+41
2000 Sydney	Runners-up	2nd of 12	8	7	0	1	240	197	+43
2004 Athens	Did not qualify
2008 Beijing
2012 London	Runners-up	2nd of 12	8	5	0	3	228	186	+42
2016 Rio de Janeiro	Group stage	11th of 12	5	1	0	4	132	131	+1
2020 Tokyo	Quarterfinals	5th of 12	6	4	0	2	177	176	+1
2024 Paris	Quarterfinals	7th of 12	6	3	0	3	189	171	+18
Total	10/17	0 Titles	65	42	2	21	1673	1362	+211

World Championship Performances

Sweden has won the World Championship four times, making them one of the most successful teams.

World Championship record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
1938 Germany	Third place	3rd of 4	3	1	0	2	8	13	−5
1954 Sweden	Champions	1st of 6	3	3	0	0	56	36	+20
1958 East Germany	Champions	1st of 16	6	6	0	0	138	74	+64
1961 West Germany	Third place	3rd of 12	6	5	0	1	89	73	+16
1964 Czechoslovakia	Runners-up	2nd of 16	6	3	0	3	104	90	+14
1967 Sweden	Match for 5th place	5th of 16	6	4	0	2	118	112	+6
1970 France	Match for 5th place	6th of 16	6	3	0	3	69	68	+1
1974 East Germany	Preliminary round	10th of 16	6	3	0	3	111	113	−2
1978 Denmark	Second round	8th of 16	6	2	0	4	121	125	−4
1982 West Germany	Second round	11th of 16	7	2	1	4	159	157	+2
1986 Switzerland	Fourth place	4th of 16	7	5	0	2	174	153	+21
1990 Czechoslovakia	Champions	1st of 16	7	6	0	1	177	143	+34
1993 Sweden	Third place	3rd of 16	7	6	0	1	166	136	+30
1995 Iceland	Third place	3rd of 24	9	8	0	1	251	201	+50
1997 Japan	Runners-up	2nd of 24	9	7	0	2	253	187	+66
1999 Egypt	Champions	1st of 24	9	8	1	0	282	202	+80
2001 France	Runners-up	2nd of 24	9	8	0	1	263	207	+56
2003 Portugal	Second round	13th of 24	7	5	0	2	204	191	+13
2005 Tunisia	Main round	11th of 24	9	4	1	4	275	234	+41
2007 Germany	Did not qualify
2009 Croatia	Main round	7th of 24	9	6	0	3	277	232	+45
2011 Sweden	Fourth place	4th of 24	10	6	0	4	272	241	+31
2013 Spain	Did not qualify
2015 Qatar	Round of 16	10th of 24	6	3	1	2	157	133	+24
2017 France	Quarter-finals	6th of 24	7	5	0	2	233	166	+67
2019 Denmark/Germany	Main round	5th of 24	9	7	0	2	273	222	+51
2021 Egypt	Runners-up	2nd of 32	9	6	2	1	276	218	+58
2023 Poland/Sweden	Fourth place	4th of 32	9	7	0	2	299	237	+62
2025 Croatia/Denmark/Norway	Qualified
Total	27/32	4 Titles	187	129	6	52	4803	3964	+839

European Championship Performances

Sweden holds the record for most European Championship titles, with five wins!

European Championship record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
1994 Portugal	Champions	1st of 12	7	7	0	0	172	133	+39
1996 Spain	Fourth place	4th of 12	7	4	0	3	170	156	+14
1998 Italy	Champions	1st of 12	7	6	0	1	182	158	+24
2000 Croatia	Champions	1st of 12	7	7	0	0	198	167	+31
2002 Sweden	Champions	1st of 16	8	7	0	1	235	191	+44
2004 Slovenia	Main round	7th of 16	7	4	0	3	211	203	+8
2006 Switzerland	Did not qualify
2008 Norway	Match for 5th place	5th of 16	7	4	1	2	208	190	+18
2010 Austria	Preliminary round	15th of 16	3	0	0	3	78	84	−6
2012 Serbia	Main round	12th of 16	6	1	2	3	157	168	−11
2014 Denmark	Main round	7th of 16	6	4	0	2	166	158	+8
2016 Poland	Match for 7th place	8th of 16	7	2	2	3	173	168	+5
2018 Croatia	Runners-up	2nd of 16	8	4	0	4	218	216	+2
2020 Austria/Norway/Sweden	Main round	7th of 24	7	4	0	3	182	169	+13
2022 Hungary/Slovakia	Champions	1st of 24	9	7	1	1	252	221	+31
2024 Germany	Third place	3rd of 24	9	6	0	3	282	255	+27
2026 Denmark/Norway/Sweden	Qualified as co-host
Total	15/16	5 titles	105	67	6	32	2884	2637	+247

*Note: Draws include knockout matches decided by penalty throws.

**Gold background means the tournament was won. A red border means the tournament was held in Sweden.

The Team and Its Leaders

This section introduces the players and coaches who make up the Swedish national handball team.

Current Squad Members

Here are the players chosen for the 2024 Summer Olympics. Handball at the 2024 Summer Olympics – Men's team rosters

Famous Players from Sweden

Many talented players have been part of the Swedish team. Here are some of the most well-known:

• Per Carlén
• Björn "Lurch" Andersson
• Bengt Johansson
• Stefan Lövgren
• Mats Olsson
• Staffan Olsson
• Magnus Wislander
• Ljubomir Vranjes
• Pierre Thorsson
• Magnus Andersson
• Ola Lindgren
• Erik Hajas
• Johan Petersson
• Peter Gentzel
• Tomas Svensson
• Kim Andersson
• Martin Frändesjö
• Jim Gottfridsson
• Niclas Ekberg

Team Coaches Through the Years

The coaches play a big role in a team's success. Here are the people who have led the Swedish men's handball team:

Amazing World and European Records

The Swedish team holds several impressive records in handball history.

World Records Held by Sweden

• Longest undefeated streak: They went 25 matches without losing in international championships (from Euro 1998 to the 2000 Olympic Games).
• Longest medal streak: They reached the medal round in 14 major tournaments in a row (1990-2002).
• Most World Championship finals: They have played in 8 finals, a record shared with France.
• Consecutive World Championship finals: They reached 3 finals in a row (1997, 1999, 2001), shared with Denmark.

European Records Held by Sweden

• Most finals reached: They have played in 18 international championship finals.
• Most medals overall: They have won 23 medals in international competitions, shared with France.
• Consecutive European gold medals: They won the European Championship three times in a row (1998, 2000, 2002).

Other Important Achievements

• They were the first European country to win a major championship title three times in a row (Euro 1998, Euro 2000, Euro 2002).
• They won the World Cup 3 times (1992, 1996, 2004).
• They won the Supercup 2 times (1993, 2005).
• They won the Intercontinental Cup once (2000).
• They were the first IHF World Champion for indoor handball in 1954.
• They were the first EHF European Champion in 1994.
• They won the very first international indoor handball game against Denmark (18-12) in Copenhagen on March 8, 1935.

Team Uniforms

The team's uniforms have been made by different companies over the years. From 2004 to 2015, Adidas supplied their kits. From 2016 to 2019, Kempa made them. Currently, their uniforms are supplied by Craft.

Find Out More

In Spanish: Selección de balonmano de Suecia para niños

• Sweden women's national handball team