The Swiss national team is taking part in the World Handball Championships for the twelfth time. The most important facts about the tournament in Croatia, Denmark and Norway, which starts on Tuesday.
14.01.2025, 04:31
14.01.2025, 06:43
SDA
Swiss opponents
Switzerland's opponents in the preliminary round are the Czech Republic, Germany and Poland. The clear favorites in Group A are Olympic silver medalists Germany, against whom the Swiss suffered two clear defeats last year (14:27 and 26:35). Their overall record is clearly negative with 7:61 wins and six draws. The last success dates back to March 9, 2019, when the Swiss won 29:27 in Düsseldorf. They lost half of their 42 matches against Poland and drew six times. However, the SHV team has recently won four in a row, including at the 2020 European Championship (31:24). Their record against the Czech Republic, their starting opponents on January 15 at 18:00, is also balanced (8-2-8).
The format
The top three teams in each of the eight preliminary round groups advance to the main round, with the points from the head-to-head matches being carried forward. The first two teams in each of the four main round groups reach the quarter-finals. The fourth-placed teams in the preliminary round play off for places 25 to 32 in the so-called "Presidents Cup".
Venues
This is the 29th time that a World Handball Championship has been held. From January 14 to February 2, it will be played for the first time in three countries: Croatia, Denmark and Norway. The Swiss, coached by Andy Schmid, will play the preliminary round in Herning, Denmark, where they will also compete in the main round. If they fail in the preliminary round, they would have to travel to Porec. The other venues in Croatia are Varazdin and Zagreb. In Norway, the matches will be played in Oslo, where the final and the match for third place will also take place.
Swiss top rankings
The Swiss have finished 4th twice in their eleven previous World Cup appearances. The first time in 1954, however, only six teams took part. In 1993, they lost 19:26 to Sweden in the match for third place, having previously defeated France and Spain, among others. The Swiss coach at the time was Arno Ehret. After finishing 7th in 1995, it took 26 years until the next World Cup appearance. The SHV team only made it to 16th place in Egypt in 2021 because the Czech Republic and the USA had to cancel due to coronavirus. This time, the Swiss benefited from a wild card after failing in the World Championship play-off on penalties against Olympic 4th-placed Slovenia.
The favorites
The top favorites are Denmark, who are aiming for their fourth World Championship title in a row. No other nation has ever won three World Championship gold medals in a row. The Danes also became Olympic champions for the second time since 2016 in Paris in August. In last year's European Championship final against France, they were only beaten in extra time (31:33). However, the Danes will no longer have two long-standing key players at their disposal: Set-up man Mikkel Hansen, who has ended his career, and goalie Niklas Landin, who has retired from the national team. The former is a three-time world handball player, Landin two.
France, record winners of six World Cup titles, will also no longer have a big name in Nikola Karabatic. The 40-year-old is the most successful handball player in history. The Equipe Tricolore will be looking to make amends after losing to Germany in the Olympic quarter-finals (34:35 n.V.). The DHB team is likely to be just as much a force to be reckoned with as Spain, who finished third at the Olympics. Sweden can also be counted among the extended group of favorites. If anyone can penetrate the European phalanx, it is Egypt. Guinea are taking part in the World Cup for the first time. A total of 32 teams will take part (as in 2021 for the first time). Previously there were 24.
