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Sweden men's national handball team facts for kids

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Sweden
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Information
Association Swedish Handball Association
(Svenska Handbollförbundet)
Coach Glenn Solberg
Assistant coach Michael Apelgren
Most caps Magnus Wislander (386)
Most goals Magnus Wislander (1191)
Colours
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Team colours
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Team colours
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Team colours
Team colours
1st
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Team colours
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Team colours
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Team colours
Team colours
2nd
Team colours
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Team colours
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Team colours
3rd
Results
Summer Olympics
Appearances 8 (First in 1972)
Best result Silver 2nd (1992, 1996, 2000, 2012)
World Championship
Appearances 26 (First in 1938)
Best result Gold 1st (1954, 1958, 1990, 1999)
European Championship
Appearances 15 (First in 1994)
Best result Gold 1st (1994, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2022)
Last updated on Unknown.
Sweden men's national handball team
Medal record
Olympic Games
Silver 1992 Barcelona Team
Silver 1996 Atlanta Team
Silver 2000 Sydney Team
Silver 2012 London Team
World Championship
Gold 1954 Sweden
Gold 1958 East Germany
Gold 1990 Czechoslovakia
Gold 1999 Egypt
Silver 1964 Czechoslovakia
Silver 1997 Japan
Silver 2001 France
Silver 2021 Egypt
Bronze 1938 Germany
Bronze 1961 West Germany
Bronze 1993 Sweden
Bronze 1995 Iceland
European Championship
Gold 1994 Portugal
Gold 1998 Italy
Gold 2000 Croatia
Gold 2002 Sweden
Gold 2022 Hungary/Slovakia
Silver 2018 Croatia
Bronze 2024 Germany
World Outdoor Championship
Gold 1948 France
Silver 1952 Switzerland
Bronze 1959 Austria

The Sweden men's national handball team (Swedish: Sveriges herrlandslag i handboll) is controlled by the Swedish Handball Association. Its most successful periods were under coaches Curt Wadmark (1948–1967) and Bengt Johansson (1988–2004). The team under Bengt Johansson, nicknamed Bengan Boys in Sweden, is regarded as one of the finest national teams in the history of the sport with players like Tomas Svensson, Staffan Olsson, Magnus Wislander and Stefan Lövgren. From 1990 through 2002 the team reached the medal round in every championship (6 World Championships, 5 European Championships and 3 Olympic Games, earning 13 medals in total) and qualified for a record 8 championship finals in a row 1996–2002.

Sweden is the most successful nation at the European Men's Handball Championship with 5 titles, and has won the most medals in the history of the World Men's Handball Championship with a total tally of 12 medals (as of 2023, this is a record shared with France). Conversely, Sweden has yet to win an Olympic title despite participating in 4 finals (Sweden participated in the 1952 Summer Olympics in a demonstration match, defeating Denmark 19–11). The team has also won the World Cup 3 times, the Supercup 2 times, and were Intercontinental Cup winners in 2000.

Honours

Competition 1 2 3 Total
Olympic Games 0 4 0 4
World Championship 4 4 4 12
European Championship 5 1 1 7
Total 9 9 5 23

Competitive record

     Champions       Runners-up       Third place       Fourth place  

Olympic Games

Games Round Position Pld W D L GF GA GD
Germany 1936 Berlin did not enter
Not held from 1948 to 1968
West Germany 1972 Munich Match for 7th place 7th of 16 6 2 2 2 82 87 −5
Canada 1976 Montreal did not qualify
Soviet Union 1980 Moscow
United States 1984 Los Angeles Match for 5th place 5th of 12 6 4 0 2 145 134 +11
South Korea 1988 Seoul Match for 5th place 5th of 12 6 4 0 2 133 109 +24
Spain 1992 Barcelona Runners-up 2nd of 12 7 6 0 1 165 130 +35
United States 1996 Atlanta Runners-up 2nd of 12 7 6 0 1 182 141 +41
Australia 2000 Sydney Runners-up 2nd of 12 8 7 0 1 240 197 +43
Greece 2004 Athens did not qualify
China 2008 Beijing
United Kingdom 2012 London Runners-up 2nd of 12 8 5 0 3 228 186 +42
Brazil 2016 Rio de Janeiro Group stage 11th of 12 5 1 0 4 132 131 +1
Japan 2020 Tokyo Quarterfinals 5th of 12 6 4 0 2 177 176 +1
France 2024 Paris qualified
United States 2028 Los Angeles to be determined
Australia 2032 Brisbane
Total 10/17 0 Titles 59 39 2 18 1484 1291 +193

World Championship

World Championship record
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA GD
Nazi Germany 1938 Germany Third place 3rd of 4 3 1 0 2 8 13 −5
Sweden 1954 Sweden Champions 1st of 6 3 3 0 0 56 36 +20
East Germany 1958 East Germany Champions 1st of 16 6 6 0 0 138 74 +64
West Germany 1961 West Germany Third place 3rd of 12 6 5 0 1 89 73 +16
Czechoslovakia 1964 Czechoslovakia Runners-up 2nd of 16 6 3 0 3 104 90 +14
Sweden 1967 Sweden Match for 5th place 5th of 16 6 4 0 2 118 112 +6
France 1970 France Match for 5th place 6th of 16 6 3 0 3 69 68 +1
East Germany 1974 East Germany Preliminary round 10th of 16 6 3 0 3 111 113 −2
Denmark 1978 Denmark Second round 8th of 16 6 2 0 4 121 125 −4
West Germany 1982 West Germany Second round 11th of 16 7 2 1 4 159 157 +2
Switzerland 1986 Switzerland Fourth place 4th of 16 7 5 0 2 174 153 +21
Czechoslovakia 1990 Czechoslovakia Champions 1st of 16 7 6 0 1 177 143 +34
Sweden 1993 Sweden Third place 3rd of 16 7 6 0 1 166 136 +30
Iceland 1995 Iceland Third place 3rd of 24 9 8 0 1 251 201 +50
Japan 1997 Japan Runners-up 2nd of 24 9 7 0 2 253 187 +66
Egypt 1999 Egypt Champions 1st of 24 9 8 1 0 282 202 +80
France 2001 France Runners-up 2nd of 24 9 8 0 1 263 207 +56
Portugal 2003 Portugal Second round 13th of 24 7 5 0 2 204 191 +13
Tunisia 2005 Tunisia Main round 11th of 24 9 4 1 4 275 234 +41
Germany 2007 Germany did not qualify
Croatia 2009 Croatia Main round 7th of 24 9 6 0 3 277 232 +45
Sweden 2011 Sweden Fourth place 4th of 24 10 6 0 4 272 241 +31
Spain 2013 Spain did not qualify
Qatar 2015 Qatar Round of 16 10th of 24 6 3 1 2 157 133 +24
France 2017 France Quarter-finals 6th of 24 7 5 0 2 233 166 +67
DenmarkGermany 2019 Denmark/Germany Main round 5th of 24 9 7 0 2 273 222 +51
Egypt 2021 Egypt Runners-up 2nd of 32 9 6 2 1 276 218 +58
PolandSweden 2023 Poland/Sweden Fourth place 4th of 32 9 7 0 2 299 237 +62
CroatiaDenmarkNorway 2025 Croatia/Denmark/Norway Qualified
Germany 2027 Germany To be determined
Total 27/30 4 Titles 187 129 6 52 4803 3964 +839

European Championship

European Championship record
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA GD
Portugal 1994 Portugal Champions 1st of 12 7 7 0 0 172 133 +39
Spain 1996 Spain Fourth place 4th of 12 7 4 0 3 170 156 +14
Italy 1998 Italy Champions 1st of 12 7 6 0 1 182 158 +24
Croatia 2000 Croatia Champions 1st of 12 7 6 1* 0 198 167 +31
Sweden 2002 Sweden Champions 1st of 16 8 7 0 1 235 191 +44
Slovenia 2004 Slovenia Main round 7th of 16 7 4 0 3 211 203 +8
Switzerland 2006 Switzerland did not qualify
Norway 2008 Norway Match for 5th place 5th of 16 7 4 1 2 208 190 +18
Austria 2010 Austria Preliminary round 15th of 16 3 0 0 3 78 84 −6
Serbia 2012 Serbia Main round 12th of 16 6 1 2 3 157 168 −11
Denmark 2014 Denmark Main round 7th of 16 6 4 0 2 166 158  +8
Poland 2016 Poland Match for 7th place 8th of 16 7 2 2 3 173 168 +5
Croatia 2018 Croatia Runners-up 2nd of 16 8 4 0 4 218 216 +2
AustriaNorwaySweden 2020 Austria/Norway/Sweden Main round 7th of 24 7 4 0 3 182 169 +13
HungarySlovakia 2022 Hungary/Slovakia Champions 1st of 24 9 7 1 1 252 221 +31
Germany 2024 Germany Third place 3rd of 24 9 6 0 3 282 255 +27
DenmarkNorwaySweden 2026 Denmark/Norway/Sweden Qualified as co-host
PortugalSpainSwitzerland 2028 Portugal/Spain/Switzerland To be determined
Total 15/16 5 titles 105 66 7* 32 2884 2637 +247
*Denotes draws include knockout matches decided on penalty throws.
**Gold background color indicates that the tournament was won. Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil.

Team

Current squad

Squad for the 2024 European Championship.

Appearances and goals correct as of 7 January 2024.

Head coach: Glenn Solberg

No. Pos. Name Date of birth (age) Height App. Goals Club
2 LB Jonathan Carlsbogård (1995-04-19) 19 April 1995 (age 29) 1.95 m 59 112 Spain Barça
5 P Max Darj (1991-09-27) 27 September 1991 (age 33) 1.91 m 110 121 Germany Füchse Berlin
11 RW Daniel Pettersson (1992-05-06) 6 May 1992 (age 32) 1.79 m 79 188 Germany SC Magdeburg
12 GK Andreas Palicka (1986-07-10) 10 July 1986 (age 38) 1.89 m 150 16 France Paris Saint-Germain
13 RW Sebastian Karlsson (1995-01-21) 21 January 1995 (age 29) 1.78 m 4 15 France Montpellier Handball
15 LW Hampus Wanne (1993-12-10) 10 December 1993 (age 30) 1.85 m 85 347 Spain Barça
16 GK Tobias Thulin (1995-07-05) 5 July 1995 (age 29) 1.98 m 49 0 Denmark GOG Håndbold
19 CB Felix Claar (1997-01-05) 5 January 1997 (age 27) 1.92 m 63 152 Germany SC Magdeburg
22 LW Lucas Pellas (1995-08-28) 28 August 1995 (age 29) 1.83 m 60 191 France Montpellier Handball
23 RB Albin Lagergren (1992-09-11) 11 September 1992 (age 32) 1.86 m 100 296 Germany SC Magdeburg
24 CB Jim Gottfridsson (1992-09-02) 2 September 1992 (age 32) 1.92 m 144 465 Germany SG Flensburg-Handewitt
28 CB Jonathan Edvardsson (1997-04-07) 7 April 1997 (age 27) 1.86 m 17 7 Germany TSV Hannover-Burgdorf
30 GK Simon Möller (2000-07-02) 2 July 2000 (age 24) 1.90 m 2 0 Sweden IK Sävehof
32 P Oscar Bergendahl (1995-03-08) 8 March 1995 (age 29) 1.92 m 45 72 Germany SC Magdeburg
33 RB Lukas Sandell (1997-02-03) 3 February 1997 (age 27) 1.91 m 47 106 Hungary Telekom Veszprém
35 P Andreas Nilsson (1990-04-12) 12 April 1990 (age 34) 1.96 m 145 344 Hungary Telekom Veszprém
42 LB Eric Johansson (2000-06-28) 28 June 2000 (age 24) 1.97 m 29 89 Germany THW Kiel
49 LB Karl Wallinius (1999-01-14) 14 January 1999 (age 25) 1.99 m 19 21 Germany THW Kiel

Notable players

  • 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

Coaches

# Coaches Period
1 Herbert Johansson 1938–1948
2 Curt Wadmark 1948–1967
3 Roland Mattsson 1967–1974
4 Bertil Andersén 1974–1979
5 Ingemar Eriksson 1979–1980
6 Caj-Åke Andersson 1980–1982
7 Roger "Ragge" Carlsson 1982–1988
8 Bengt "Bengan" Johansson 1988–2004
9 Ingemar Linnéll 2004–2008
10 Ola Lindgren & Staffan Olsson 2008–2016
11 Kristján Andrésson 2016–2020
12 Glenn Solberg 2020–

World & European Records

World Records

  • Longest undefeated streak in international championships (25 matches, Euro 1998 - 2000 Olympic Games).
  • Longest medal round streak in major championships (14 tournaments, 1990-2002).
  • Longest medal round streak in the World Championships (7 tournaments, 1986-2001).
  • 8 consecutive finals in international championships (1996-2002).
  • Most World Championship finals (8 - shared with France).
  • 3 consecutive World Championship finals (1997, 1999, 2001 - shared with Denmark).

European Records

  • Most finals reached in international championships (18).
  • Most medals in international competition (23 - shared with France).
  • 3 consecutive gold medals at the European championship (1998, 2000, 2002).

Other merits

  • First European nation to win a major championship title three times in a row (Euro 1998, Euro 2000, Euro 2002).
  • 3 x winners of the World Cup (1992, 1996, 2004)
  • 2 x winners of the Supercup (1993, 2005)
  • 1 x winners of the Intercontinental Cup (2000)
  • The first IHF World Champion (1954 - indoor handball) (Germany's 1938 victory was under the IAHF).
  • The first EHF European Champion (1994).
  • Defeated Denmark 18-12 in Copenhagen in the first ever international indoor handball game (8 March 1935).

Kit supplier

From 2004 to 2015 Sweden's kits were supplied by Adidas, and 2016-2019 by Kempa. The current supplier is Craft.

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Selección de balonmano de Suecia para niños

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