The Sweden men's national handball team () is Sweden's national team in men's handball and 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
Tomas Runar Svensson (born 15 February 1968) is a Swedish former professional handball goalkeeper who is currently goalkeeping coach of the Swedish men's national handball team, and an assistant coach for FC Barcelona.
Career
Growing up in Esk ...
,
Staffan Olsson
Erik Staffan Olsson (born 26 March 1964) is a Swedish handball coach and former player. Olsson, who always played with no 13, was a left-handed right backcourt player with one of the most feared shots of all the elite players. Later in his care ...
,
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
The European Men's Handball Championship is the official competition for senior men's national handball teams of Europe and takes place every two years since 1994, in the even-numbered year between the World Championship. In addition to crowning ...
with 5 titles, and at the
World Men's Handball Championship
The IHF Men's Handball World Championship has been organized indoor by the International Handball Federation since 1938.
In the twenty-nine tournaments held, twelve national teams have won the title. France is the most successful team with six ...
with a total tally of 12 medals, including 4 gold medals. Conversely, Sweden has yet to win an Olympic title despite participating in 4 finals (Sweden participated in the
1952 Summer Olympics
The 1952 Summer Olympics (, ), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad (, ) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952, were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1952 in Helsinki, Finland.
After Japan declared in ...
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
Competitive record
Champions Runners-up Third place Fourth place
Olympic Games
World Championship
Euro Tournaments
All teams in these tournaments are European,all World and Olympic Champions, and top 7 from World Championships and Olympics were participating. They were mini European championships at the time, till 1994 when official European Championship started.
:EURO World Cup tournament Sweden
*1971 : 6th place
*1974 : 8th place
*1979 : 8th place
*1984 : 4th place
*1988 : 3rd place
*1992 : Champions
:EURO
Super Cup tournament Germany
*1979 : 6th place
*1981 : 6th place
*1983 : 5th place
*1985 : 8th place
*1987 : 6th place
*1989 : 5th place
*1991 : 3rd place
*1993 : Champions
European Championship
:''*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
Roster for the
2025 World Men's Handball Championship.
Head coach:
Michael Apelgren
Notable players
*
Per Carlén
*
Björn "Lurch" Andersson
*
Bengt Johansson
*
Stefan Lövgren
*
Mats Olsson
*
Staffan Olsson
Erik Staffan Olsson (born 26 March 1964) is a Swedish handball coach and former player. Olsson, who always played with no 13, was a left-handed right backcourt player with one of the most feared shots of all the elite players. Later in his care ...
*
Magnus Wislander
*
Ljubomir Vranjes
Ljubomir Vranjes (born 3 October 1973) is a Swedish handball coach and former player who competed at the 2000 Summer Olympics. He is currently the sporting director of German team SG Flensburg-Handewitt.
He was inducted into the EHF Hall of Fam ...
*
Pierre Thorsson
*
Magnus Andersson
*
Ola Lindgren
Per Ola Markus Lindgren (born 29 February 1964) is a Swedish former handball player and current coach. He has been the head coach for IFK Kristianstad since 2012 and was the head coach for Sweden from 2008 to 2016. As a player, he won two Worl ...
*
Erik Hajas
Erik Hajas (born 16 September 1962) is a Swedish former handball player and handball coach. During the 1980s and 1990s he was one of the best wing players in the world. He won the 1990 World Championship and the 1994 European Championship, and ...
*
Johan Petersson
*
Peter Gentzel
*
Tomas Svensson
Tomas Runar Svensson (born 15 February 1968) is a Swedish former professional handball goalkeeper who is currently goalkeeping coach of the Swedish men's national handball team, and an assistant coach for FC Barcelona.
Career
Growing up in Esk ...
*
Kim Andersson
*
Martin Frändesjö
*
Jim Gottfridsson
*
Niclas Ekberg
Coaches
World and 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).
European records
* 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
Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...
in the first ever international indoor handball game (8 March 1935).
Kit supplier
From 2004 to 2015 Sweden's kits were supplied by
Adidas
Adidas AG (; stylized in all lowercase since 1949) is a German athletic apparel and footwear corporation headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, Germany. It is the largest sportswear manufacturer in Europe, and the second largest in the ...
, and 2016–2019 by
Kempa. The current supplier is
Craft
A craft or trade is a pastime or an occupation that requires particular skills and knowledge of skilled work. In a historical sense, particularly the Middle Ages and earlier, the term is usually applied to people occupied in small scale pr ...
.
See also
*
Sweden women's national handball team
The Sweden women's national handball team () is the national team of Sweden. It is governed by the Swedish Handball Federation () and takes part in international handball competitions.
Honours
Competitive record
Champions R ...
References
External links
*
IHF profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sweden men's National Handball Team
Handball in Sweden
Men's national handball teams
Handball
Handball (also known as team handball, European handball, Olympic handball or indoor handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of thr ...